CVE-2005-4274 in WebIntelligence
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Business Objects WebIntelligence 6.5x allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (user account lock out) via unknown attack vectors related to "authentication mechanisms" and "form input."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4274 affects Business Objects WebIntelligence 6.5x and represents a significant security weakness in the authentication subsystem that can be exploited remotely to trigger user account lockout conditions. This unspecified flaw operates within the authentication mechanisms of the web intelligence platform, specifically targeting how the system processes form input from users attempting to access protected resources. The vulnerability manifests as a denial of service condition that results in account lockout rather than traditional system crashes or resource exhaustion, making it particularly insidious as it can be used to disrupt legitimate user access without necessarily compromising system integrity or data confidentiality. The attack vectors remain unspecified in the public CVE description, which suggests that the exact technical mechanism by which authentication mechanisms fail to properly handle form input is not fully detailed in the initial reporting.
The technical flaw within Business Objects WebIntelligence 6.5x appears to stem from inadequate input validation and authentication flow management when processing user credentials through web forms. This weakness likely allows attackers to craft specific form inputs that trigger unexpected behavior in the authentication subsystem, potentially causing the system to incorrectly interpret legitimate login attempts as malicious activity or to repeatedly fail authentication attempts that would normally succeed. The vulnerability's classification as a denial of service through account lockout indicates that the system's authentication logic may be configured to lock accounts after a certain number of failed authentication attempts, and the flaw enables attackers to trigger these lockout conditions without necessarily having access to valid credentials. This behavior aligns with common security patterns where authentication systems implement account lockout mechanisms to prevent brute force attacks, but these same mechanisms can be exploited by attackers to create denial of service conditions for legitimate users.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-4274 extends beyond simple service disruption as it fundamentally undermines user trust and system availability within Business Objects environments. Organizations relying on WebIntelligence 6.5x for business intelligence reporting and analytics may experience significant operational downtime when legitimate users encounter account lockout conditions that prevent access to critical business data. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where multiple users depend on the same authentication infrastructure, potentially creating cascading effects that impact productivity and business operations across departments. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can target this vulnerability from outside the organization's network, making it a particularly attractive vector for malicious actors seeking to disrupt business operations without requiring physical access or insider knowledge. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that this vulnerability may have multiple exploitation paths, potentially making it more difficult to fully assess and remediate across different deployment configurations.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of broader authentication security frameworks and attack patterns documented in industry standards such as those referenced in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the credential access and defense evasion tactics. The vulnerability's classification as an authentication-related flaw aligns with CWE categories focusing on authentication weaknesses and input validation issues, particularly CWE-287 which addresses improper handling of authentication tokens and credentials. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring and logging of authentication events to detect unusual patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, while also ensuring that account lockout policies are properly configured to balance security with operational availability. The remediation approach should focus on updating to supported versions of Business Objects WebIntelligence, implementing proper input sanitization and validation processes, and establishing robust access control policies that prevent exploitation while maintaining legitimate user access. Additionally, network segmentation and application-level firewalls can provide additional layers of protection against remote exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability.