CVE-2011-1861 in Service Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in HP Service Manager 7.02, 7.11, 9.20, and 9.21 and Service Center 6.2.8 allows remote attackers to modify data or obtain sensitive information via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/26/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1861 represents a critical security flaw within HP Service Manager and Service Center software versions 7.02, 7.11, 9.20, and 9.21, along with Service Center 6.2.8. This unspecified weakness creates a significant risk for organizations relying on these service management platforms, as it enables remote attackers to manipulate data integrity and access confidential information through unknown attack vectors. The vulnerability resides within the core service management framework that organizations use to manage IT service requests, incidents, and workflows, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where these systems serve as central points of operational control.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the HP Service Manager and Service Center applications. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform unauthorized data modifications or extract sensitive information without proper authentication or authorization. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors suggests that multiple attack surfaces within the software may be compromised, potentially including web interfaces, API endpoints, or database interaction points. This lack of specificity in the vulnerability description often indicates a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture rather than a single isolated issue, which typically results in broader impact than initially apparent.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1861 extends far beyond simple data corruption or information disclosure. Organizations utilizing these HP service management platforms face potential disruption to critical IT service management processes, including incident handling, problem resolution, and change management workflows. Attackers could manipulate service requests, alter incident priorities, modify user access permissions, or corrupt service level agreement data, leading to operational chaos and potential service outages. The vulnerability also poses significant risks to regulatory compliance and audit readiness, as unauthorized data modifications could compromise the integrity of service management records that organizations must maintain for compliance purposes. Furthermore, the ability to obtain sensitive information through this vulnerability could expose confidential business data, user credentials, or system configurations that attackers could leverage for further exploitation.
Security professionals should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies for this vulnerability, including immediate deployment of available vendor patches and updates, network segmentation to limit access to service management systems, and enhanced monitoring of suspicious activities within these platforms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues, and may also relate to CWE-20, representing input validation flaws that allow attackers to manipulate system behavior through malformed inputs. Organizations should consider implementing the ATT&CK framework's techniques for credential access and privilege escalation to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security assessments, privileged access management controls, and comprehensive incident response procedures should be established to address potential exploitation of this vulnerability and maintain the integrity of service management operations.