CVE-2010-3892 in OmniFind
Summary
by MITRE
Session fixation vulnerability in the login form in the administrator interface in IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition 8.x and 9.x allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions by replaying a session ID (aka SID) value.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/08/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3892 represents a critical session fixation flaw within IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition versions 8.x and 9.x administrative interfaces. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly invalidate session identifiers upon successful authentication, creating a persistent security risk that enables remote attackers to exploit web session management mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically affects the administrator login form where session IDs remain static throughout the authentication process, allowing malicious actors to capture valid session tokens and reuse them to gain unauthorized access to administrative functions. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-384 category of Session Fixation, which is classified as a high-risk issue due to its potential for privilege escalation and unauthorized system access.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs when the web application fails to generate new session identifiers upon successful user authentication, particularly within the administrative interface context. When an attacker intercepts a valid session ID through various means such as network sniffing or cross-site scripting attacks, they can replay this identifier to establish a session with the same privileges as the legitimate user. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it targets the administrative interface where sensitive operations and system configurations are accessible, making the potential impact significantly more severe than typical session management issues. The flaw exists in the application's session handling logic where the system does not properly invalidate or regenerate session tokens during the authentication process, creating a window of opportunity for session hijacking attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-3892 extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with potential privileges to manipulate system configurations, access sensitive data, and perform administrative functions within the OmniFind Enterprise Edition environment. Remote attackers can leverage this vulnerability without requiring any special privileges or authentication credentials beyond what is needed to obtain a valid session ID, making the attack surface particularly broad. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions of the software indicates a systemic issue in the application's session management architecture rather than a localized bug. This flaw directly violates security best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.003 for abuse of session management, where adversaries exploit session fixation to maintain persistent access to targeted systems.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including session token regeneration upon successful authentication, proper session invalidation mechanisms, and network-level protections such as secure cookie attributes and HTTPS enforcement. The recommended approach involves configuring the application to generate fresh session identifiers during the authentication process and implementing proper session management controls that prevent the reuse of session tokens. Security patches should be applied to upgrade to versions that address this session fixation vulnerability, while network monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential session replay attempts. Additionally, implementing proper access controls, regular session timeout mechanisms, and comprehensive logging of authentication events will help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper session management in web applications and serves as a reminder of the necessity for thorough security testing of authentication mechanisms.