CVE-2009-1074 in Java System Identity Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Sun Java System Identity Manager (IdM) 7.0 through 8.0 does not use SSL in all expected circumstances, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network, related to "ssl termination devices" and lack of support for relative URLs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/11/2017
Sun Java System Identity Manager version 7.0 through 8.0 contains a significant security vulnerability that compromises the confidentiality of sensitive information through improper SSL implementation. This vulnerability stems from the product's failure to consistently enforce SSL encryption across all communication channels, creating exploitable gaps in the security architecture. The flaw specifically manifests when SSL termination devices are employed in the network infrastructure, where the system does not adequately maintain encrypted connections throughout the entire communication flow. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the core identity management functionality where sensitive user credentials, authentication tokens, and personal information are processed and transmitted. According to the CWE catalog, this issue relates to CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information, which explicitly addresses the transmission of confidential data without proper encryption mechanisms. The vulnerability also connects to ATT&CK technique T1046: Network Service Scanning and T1071.004: Application Layer Protocol: DNS, as attackers can exploit the cleartext communication to intercept and analyze network traffic. The lack of support for relative URLs compounds the issue by allowing attackers to manipulate URL structures to bypass expected security controls. When SSL termination devices handle connections, they often terminate the SSL session at the network edge, but the application layer fails to re-encrypt data when passing through these devices, creating a security gap where sensitive information flows in cleartext between the termination point and the application server. This design flaw allows remote attackers to perform packet sniffing operations and capture authentication credentials, session tokens, and other sensitive data that should remain encrypted throughout the communication lifecycle. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Identity Manager handles critical user authentication and authorization functions, as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of the identity management infrastructure. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable privilege escalation attacks, session hijacking, and credential theft that could compromise entire user directories and access control systems. Organizations using these versions of Sun Java System Identity Manager face significant risk of data breaches and compliance violations, particularly in regulated environments where encryption of sensitive data is mandatory. The vulnerability represents a failure in the principle of defense in depth, where multiple layers of security should protect against various attack vectors. Security professionals should immediately implement network monitoring solutions to detect cleartext traffic patterns and consider network segmentation to limit the exposure of sensitive communications. The proper remediation involves ensuring consistent SSL implementation throughout the application stack, proper configuration of SSL termination devices, and implementation of absolute URL references to prevent manipulation of communication paths. This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of maintaining end-to-end encryption in identity management systems and demonstrates how infrastructure design choices can create unexpected security weaknesses in enterprise applications.