CVE-2009-5083 in Tivoli Federated Identity Manager
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager (TFIM) 6.2.0 before 6.2.0.2, when configured as an OpenID relying party, does not perform the expected login rejection upon receiving an OP-Identifier from an OpenID provider, which allows remote attackers to bypass authentication via unspecified vectors.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2018
IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager version 6.2.0 before 6.2.0.2 contains a critical authentication bypass vulnerability when configured as an OpenID relying party. This flaw stems from the system's failure to properly validate OpenID provider identifiers during the authentication process, creating a pathway for remote attackers to circumvent the intended security controls. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the system receives an OP-Identifier from an OpenID provider, which should trigger a rejection of the login attempt based on predefined security parameters but instead allows unauthorized access to proceed.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability relates to the improper handling of OpenID protocol elements within the TFIM framework. When functioning as a relying party, the system should validate that the OpenID provider identifier matches expected patterns and security configurations before accepting authentication responses. However, the flaw allows attackers to manipulate the OpenID provider identifier in ways that bypass these validation checks, effectively enabling authentication bypass attacks. This represents a failure in the OpenID protocol compliance and authentication flow validation mechanisms within the IBM Tivoli platform.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple authentication bypass to potentially compromise the entire identity federation infrastructure. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to systems protected by TFIM, potentially leading to data breaches, privilege escalation, and unauthorized system access. The unspecified attack vectors suggest that the vulnerability may be exploitable through various methods including man-in-the-middle attacks, session hijacking, or direct manipulation of OpenID provider identifiers. Organizations relying on TFIM for identity federation services face significant risk as this vulnerability undermines the fundamental security assumptions of the federated identity model.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting. The flaw represents a critical gap in the authentication validation process that allows attackers to leverage the trust relationship established in the OpenID federation model. Organizations should immediately apply the vendor-provided patch to address this vulnerability and implement additional monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns. The remediation process requires careful attention to the OpenID provider configuration and validation settings to ensure proper enforcement of security policies. Security teams should also consider implementing additional authentication controls and monitoring mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability may be difficult to detect through standard security scanning tools due to its subtle nature within the OpenID protocol flow.