CVE-2011-4817 in Maximo Asset Management
Summary
by MITRE
The About option on the Help menu in IBM Maximo Asset Management and Asset Management Essentials 6.2, 7.1, and 7.5; IBM Tivoli Asset Management for IT 6.2, 7.1, and 7.2; IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager 7.1 and 7.2; IBM Maximo Service Desk 6.2; and IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database (CCMDB) 6.2, 7.1, and 7.2 shows the username, which might allow remote authenticated users to have an unspecified impact via a targeted attack against the corresponding user account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/30/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2011-4817 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within multiple IBM asset management and service desk products. This weakness manifests through the About option available in the Help menu of affected versions, where the system inadvertently reveals authentication credentials to remote authenticated users. The flaw affects a broad range of enterprise asset management solutions including IBM Maximo Asset Management, IBM Tivoli Asset Management for IT, IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager, IBM Maximo Service Desk, and IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database across their respective version lines. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the user interface level, making it accessible through standard application navigation rather than requiring complex exploitation techniques.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the application's help functionality. When users access the About section through the Help menu, the system displays system information that includes username credentials in cleartext format. This behavior violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and information hiding, as it provides unauthorized access to sensitive authentication data that should remain protected within the application's internal security boundaries. The flaw demonstrates poor security design practices where the application fails to properly separate user interface elements from internal system information that could be exploited by malicious actors.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for enterprise environments that rely on these asset management systems for critical business operations. Remote authenticated users who can access the Help menu functionality gain access to usernames that could be used for targeted attacks against specific user accounts. The unspecified impact mentioned in the CVE description suggests potential for credential reuse attacks, account takeover scenarios, or further exploitation through password spraying techniques. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations with complex user access controls and privileged accounts, as the leaked information could enable attackers to focus their efforts on specific high-value targets within the system. The exposure of usernames provides attackers with crucial reconnaissance data that could lead to more sophisticated attacks leveraging known user patterns and account structures.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-200, which addresses information exposure, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege. Organizations using affected IBM products should implement immediate mitigations including restricting access to Help menu functionality, implementing proper access controls for authenticated users, and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to help system features. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566, which covers credential harvesting through various means, making it a potential entry point for broader attack chains. Remediation efforts should focus on patching affected systems, implementing network segmentation to limit access to help functionality, and conducting comprehensive security audits to identify similar information disclosure vulnerabilities across the enterprise. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging controls to detect suspicious access patterns related to help menu functionality and user credential exposure.