CVE-2012-3315 in Tivoli Federated Identity Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The Java servlets in the management console in IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager (TFIM) through 6.2.2 and Tivoli Federated Identity Manager Business Gateway (TFIMBG) before 6.2.2 do not require authentication for all resource downloads, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended J2EE security constraints, and obtain sensitive information related to (1) federation metadata or (2) a web plugin configuration template, via a crafted request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/22/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-3315 affects IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager versions through 6.2.2 and the Tivoli Federated Identity Manager Business Gateway versions before 6.2.2. This security flaw resides within the management console's Java servlet implementation and represents a critical authentication bypass issue that undermines the fundamental security architecture of the federated identity management system. The vulnerability specifically targets the management console's resource download functionality where certain servlets fail to enforce proper authentication mechanisms, creating an unauthorized access vector that directly violates core security principles.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper implementation of access control within the Java servlets that handle resource downloads in the management console. Under normal circumstances, these servlets should enforce J2EE security constraints to ensure that only authenticated and authorized administrators can access sensitive configuration files and metadata. However, the vulnerability allows remote attackers to craft specific requests that bypass these security checks, enabling access to critical system components without proper authentication. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a failure in the authentication and authorization framework that should protect administrative interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with access to two distinct categories of sensitive information. The first category involves federation metadata, which contains critical configuration details about identity providers, service providers, and trust relationships that govern federated identity operations. The second category consists of web plugin configuration templates that likely contain sensitive deployment information, integration parameters, and potentially credential-related configuration settings. Both types of information could enable attackers to map the entire federated identity infrastructure, understand trust relationships, and potentially escalate their access further within the system.
This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-284, which addresses improper access control in software systems, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers could leverage the exposed information to craft more sophisticated attacks. The exposure of federation metadata could enable attackers to perform reconnaissance and potentially exploit other vulnerabilities within the federated identity ecosystem, while access to plugin configurations might reveal implementation details that could be used for privilege escalation or lateral movement attacks. The remote nature of this vulnerability means that attackers do not require physical access or network proximity to exploit the flaw, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches, configuring additional access controls through network firewalls to restrict access to management consoles, and implementing network segmentation to limit exposure. The recommended approach involves ensuring that all management console endpoints properly enforce authentication and authorization checks, implementing role-based access controls, and conducting thorough security assessments of the federated identity infrastructure. Additionally, monitoring and logging mechanisms should be enhanced to detect unauthorized access attempts to management interfaces, and regular security audits should verify that authentication mechanisms remain properly configured. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper security testing and validation of administrative interfaces, particularly in complex identity management systems where exposure of configuration data can have cascading security implications throughout the entire federated identity ecosystem.