CVE-2009-2746 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the administrative console in the Security component in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 6.0.2 before 6.0.2.39, 6.1 before 6.1.0.29, and 7.0 before 7.0.0.7 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/27/2021
The CVE-2009-2746 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within IBM WebSphere Application Server's administrative console security component. This vulnerability specifically affects versions 6.0.2 prior to 6.0.2.39, 6.1 prior to 6.1.0.29, and 7.0 prior to 7.0.0.7, creating a significant attack surface that could allow remote adversaries to exploit administrative authentication sessions. The flaw resides in the Security component's handling of administrative console requests, where the system fails to properly validate or authenticate cross-origin requests that attempt to manipulate administrative functions. This vulnerability operates under the CWE-352 classification as a classic cross-site request forgery attack vector, where malicious actors can trick authenticated administrators into executing unintended commands without their knowledge or consent. The attack leverages the trust relationship between the web application and the administrator's browser session, exploiting the absence of proper request origin verification mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability enables attackers to craft malicious web pages or links that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit administrative requests to the WebSphere console. These requests can potentially modify server configurations, create new user accounts, change security settings, or perform other privileged operations that the administrator would normally execute through legitimate administrative interfaces. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the attack could be delivered through various means including email attachments, compromised websites, or malicious third-party integrations that trick users into clicking malicious links or visiting harmful web pages. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe because it targets the administrative console, which typically possesses the highest privilege levels within the application server environment, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to establish persistent access or cause significant system disruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential complete system compromise and data breach scenarios. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF flaw could gain administrative control over the entire WebSphere application server instance, potentially leading to unauthorized code deployment, configuration changes that weaken security posture, or data exfiltration from applications hosted on the server. The attack's remote nature means that adversaries do not require physical access or network-level privileges to exploit this vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where administrative interfaces may be exposed to untrusted networks. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which describes social engineering attacks that leverage web-based delivery methods to gain initial access, and T1078 which covers valid accounts usage for persistence and privilege escalation within target systems. Organizations utilizing affected WebSphere versions face significant risk of unauthorized administrative actions that could compromise entire application environments and violate compliance requirements for privileged access controls.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided security patches and updates for IBM WebSphere Application Server versions 6.0.2.39, 6.1.0.29, and 7.0.0.7 to address this CSRF vulnerability. Additionally, implementing proper request origin validation mechanisms, enforcing strict content security policies, and utilizing anti-CSRF tokens within administrative interfaces can provide additional layers of protection. Network segmentation strategies should be employed to limit access to administrative consoles to trusted networks only, while regular security audits and monitoring of administrative access logs should be conducted to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect critical administrative interfaces from various attack vectors. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious administrative requests that may indicate CSRF attack attempts. Regular security training for administrators regarding social engineering threats and the importance of verifying request origins can further reduce the risk of successful exploitation. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patched environments to ensure that the CSRF protection mechanisms function correctly without disrupting legitimate administrative operations.