CVE-2009-4152 in WebSphere Portal
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Collaboration component in IBM WebSphere Portal 6.1.x before 6.1.0.3 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the people picker tag.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/20/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-4152 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM WebSphere Portal's Collaboration component. This issue affects versions 6.1.x prior to 6.1.0.3 and specifically targets the people picker tag functionality that enables users to search and select individuals within the portal environment. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within web pages. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious scripts or HTML content that gets executed in the context of other users' browsers when the people picker tag processes the input. The people picker functionality is commonly used for user management, collaboration, and social networking features within the portal, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged to compromise multiple users simultaneously.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications. This classification indicates that the application fails to properly validate or encode user-controllable data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content. The attack vector operates through the people picker tag's processing of user input, where malicious payloads can be injected and subsequently executed in the browsers of other portal users. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insufficient data sanitization where the system does not adequately escape or encode special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or script commands. This flaw exists because the portal's input handling mechanism does not properly distinguish between legitimate user input and potentially malicious code that could be embedded within the data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised portal environment. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, modify portal content, or even escalate privileges within the collaboration framework. The people picker tag serves as a critical interface for user interaction and social features, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to compromise user sessions or manipulate collaboration data. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on WebSphere Portal for employee collaboration, social networking, and enterprise social computing features, as it undermines the security of user interactions and potentially exposes sensitive corporate data.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to IBM WebSphere Portal 6.1.0.3 or later versions where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and output encoding enhancements. The fix typically involves implementing comprehensive sanitization of user input within the people picker tag functionality and ensuring that all dynamic content generation properly escapes special characters. Security patches should be applied promptly as they address the root cause by strengthening the input validation mechanisms and implementing proper HTML encoding for all user-supplied data. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious script injection attempts, though this represents a secondary defense measure. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and code reviews focusing on input validation and output encoding practices, particularly for components that handle user-generated content within enterprise portal environments. This issue demonstrates the critical need for defense-in-depth strategies that combine proper application-level fixes with network-level monitoring and intrusion detection systems to protect against similar vulnerabilities in the broader attack surface.