CVE-2006-1210 in Netcool Neusecure
Summary
by MITRE
The web interface for IBM Tivoli Micromuse Netcool/NeuSecure 3.0.236 includes the MySQL database username and password in cleartext in body.phtml, which allows remote attackers to gain privileges by reading the source. NOTE: IBM has privately confirmed to CVE that a fix is available for these issues.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-1210 affects IBM Tivoli Micromuse Netcool/NeuSecure version 3.0.236, specifically within its web interface component. This issue represents a critical configuration flaw that exposes sensitive authentication credentials in an easily accessible format. The vulnerability exists in the body.phtml file which is part of the web application's user interface implementation. The flaw demonstrates poor security practices in credential handling and storage, creating an attack surface that adversaries can exploit without requiring advanced techniques or privileged access.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the insecure handling of database authentication credentials within the web application source code. The MySQL database username and password are stored in cleartext format within the body.phtml file, making them immediately accessible to any remote attacker who can obtain the web application source code or view the page source through browser inspection tools. This represents a classic example of hard-coded credentials, which falls under the CWE-798 weakness category for use of hard-coded credentials. The vulnerability directly enables unauthorized access to the underlying database system, allowing attackers to potentially escalate privileges and gain full administrative control over the database infrastructure.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations using the affected IBM Tivoli product. Remote attackers can exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized database access, potentially leading to data theft, data manipulation, or complete system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple credential theft as attackers can leverage the database access to perform additional attacks such as privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or lateral movement within the network infrastructure. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access or network-level privileges to exploit the flaw, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where such systems may be exposed to external networks.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with several ATT&CK framework techniques including credential access through hard-coded credentials and privilege escalation via database access. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including patching the affected system with the vendor-provided fix, removing or obfuscating hard-coded credentials from source files, and implementing proper credential management practices. Additional protective measures should include network segmentation to limit access to the affected system, implementing web application firewalls, and conducting regular source code reviews to identify similar credential exposure issues. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of secure coding practices and proper credential management in web applications, particularly in enterprise security systems where database access can provide extensive attack surface.