CVE-2008-4807 in Lotus Connections
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Lotus Connections 2.x before 2.0.1 stores the password for the administrative user in the trace.log file, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information by reading this file. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/05/2017
This vulnerability involves a critical security flaw in IBM Lotus Connections 2.x versions prior to 2.0.1 where administrative credentials are inadvertently logged in plain text within the trace.log file. The issue represents a classic case of insecure logging practices that violates fundamental security principles. When the administrative user authenticates to the system, their password is written to the trace log file in cleartext format, creating an immediate and severe information disclosure risk. This flaw demonstrates poor input validation and output sanitization, as sensitive authentication data should never be written to log files without proper encryption or obfuscation mechanisms. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-532, which addresses information exposure through log files, and also connects to CWE-312, concerning sensitive data exposure in cleartext.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted. Local users who gain access to the system can simply read the trace.log file to extract administrative passwords, effectively compromising the entire system's security posture. This creates an immediate privilege escalation vector where attackers can assume administrative control without needing to perform additional authentication attacks or exploit other vulnerabilities. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal technical skill to exploit and provides direct access to system administration functions. From an attack perspective, this aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers legitimate credentials and impersonation through the use of compromised credentials. The flaw essentially provides attackers with a backdoor method to bypass normal authentication mechanisms and gain full administrative control over the Lotus Connections environment.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper application logging design and insufficient security controls within the IBM Lotus Connections software. The system fails to implement proper credential sanitization before writing data to log files, which represents a fundamental security oversight in the application's architecture. The trace.log file, which should contain only operational diagnostics and system information, becomes a repository for sensitive authentication data. This issue highlights the importance of following security best practices such as the principle of least privilege and the need for comprehensive security testing including penetration testing and code reviews. Organizations using affected versions of IBM Lotus Connections face significant risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential system compromise. The vulnerability also underscores the need for proper log file management and access controls, as even legitimate system administrators should not have unrestricted access to files containing sensitive information. Remediation requires immediate patching to IBM Lotus Connections 2.0.1 or later versions, along with comprehensive log file access controls and monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive system information.