CVE-2010-3893 in OmniFind
Summary
by MITRE
The administrator interface in IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition 8.x and 9.x does not restrict use of a session ID (aka SID) value to a single IP address, which allows remote attackers to perform arbitrary administrative actions by leveraging cookie theft, related to a "session impersonation" issue.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3893 affects IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition versions 8.x and 9.x, specifically targeting the administrator interface's session management mechanisms. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that undermines the authentication and authorization controls designed to protect administrative functions within the enterprise search platform. The issue stems from the application's failure to implement proper session binding between user sessions and their originating IP addresses, creating a significant attack surface that can be exploited by remote threat actors.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper implementation of session management controls, specifically the absence of IP address binding for session identifiers. When a legitimate administrator authenticates to the system, the application generates a session ID that should ideally be tied to the specific IP address from which the authentication occurred. However, in affected versions of IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition, this binding mechanism is either absent or inadequately implemented, allowing session tokens to be reused across different network locations. This creates a session impersonation vulnerability where an attacker who has obtained a valid session cookie can leverage it from any IP address to assume administrative privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching, as it enables remote attackers to perform arbitrary administrative actions without proper authentication. An attacker who successfully steals a session cookie can immediately access the administrator interface and execute privileged operations such as modifying system configurations, creating or deleting users, accessing sensitive data, and potentially escalating their privileges further within the system. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and unauthorized modifications to enterprise search capabilities. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal technical expertise to exploit, making it attractive to both skilled and less sophisticated threat actors.
This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-613, which addresses Insufficient Session Expiration, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 for Phishing and T1078 for Valid Accounts. The session impersonation aspect specifically relates to credential access and privilege escalation tactics that attackers commonly employ. Organizations using IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition 8.x and 9.x are particularly vulnerable because the flaw exists at the application layer where session management controls should enforce strict access controls. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the application's security architecture and highlights the importance of implementing proper session binding mechanisms to prevent session hijacking attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate implementation of IP address binding for session identifiers, which can be achieved through configuration changes in the application's session management settings. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as secure cookie attributes including HttpOnly and Secure flags, regular session token rotation, and monitoring for unusual session activity patterns. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to patched versions of IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition where the session management has been properly corrected to bind sessions to specific IP addresses. Network-level controls such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring for suspicious session behavior and unauthorized access attempts. Security teams should also implement comprehensive logging and monitoring of administrative activities to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain audit trails for forensic analysis.