CVE-2012-5761 in Netezza
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WebAdmin application 6.0.5, 6.0.8, and 7.0 before P2 in IBM Netezza allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2019
The CVE-2012-5761 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Netezza's WebAdmin application across multiple versions including 6.0.5, 6.0.8, and 7.0 before patch level P2. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability specifically affects the WebAdmin interface that serves as the management console for IBM Netezza data warehousing appliances, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on this platform for their data analytics infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the WebAdmin application's handling of user-supplied data. Attackers with valid authentication credentials can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious web scripts or HTML content through unspecified vectors within the application's interface. This allows them to manipulate the application's behavior and potentially execute arbitrary code in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only authenticated access, meaning that an attacker who has obtained legitimate user credentials can leverage this flaw without needing additional privileges or complex attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive information, manipulate data within the application, or redirect users to malicious websites. For IBM Netezza environments, this represents a severe risk to data integrity and confidentiality since the WebAdmin interface typically contains sensitive administrative functions and access to critical database operations. The vulnerability could potentially allow an attacker to escalate privileges, access restricted administrative features, or compromise the entire data warehousing platform. Organizations using these vulnerable versions face significant risk of unauthorized access to their analytical data environments, which could lead to data breaches, regulatory compliance violations, and substantial financial losses.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including applying the official IBM security patches released for this vulnerability, which would address the input validation gaps in the WebAdmin application. Network segmentation and access controls should be enhanced to limit exposure of the WebAdmin interface to only authorized personnel, while implementing robust input sanitization measures and output encoding practices. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers could use the XSS capability to execute malicious commands through the compromised interface. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in their broader application landscape. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patched environments to ensure that the vulnerability is fully addressed without introducing regressions in application functionality, while also establishing monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts.