CVE-2013-0460 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the portlet subsystem in the administrative console in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 6.1 before 6.1.0.47 and 7.0 before 7.0.0.27 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert cross-site scripting (XSS) sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/22/2021
The CVE-2013-0460 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within IBM WebSphere Application Server's administrative console portlet subsystem. This vulnerability exists in versions 6.1 prior to 6.1.0.47 and 7.0 prior to 7.0.0.27, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on these older versions of the application server. The flaw specifically targets the administrative console's portlet functionality, which serves as a primary interface for system administrators to manage and configure the application server environment. The vulnerability enables attackers to manipulate the authentication mechanisms of legitimate users through carefully crafted malicious requests.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the administrative console's portlet subsystem. When administrators interact with the console, the system should verify that requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions rather than being forged by malicious actors. However, the flawed implementation fails to adequately validate the authenticity of requests, allowing attackers to construct malicious payloads that can be executed within the context of authenticated administrative sessions. The vulnerability becomes particularly dangerous when combined with cross-site scripting capabilities, as attackers can insert malicious XSS sequences that persist within the application server's administrative interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass a complete compromise of administrative privileges. Attackers can leverage this flaw to perform arbitrary administrative actions on behalf of legitimate users, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The ability to insert XSS sequences means that malicious scripts can persist within the administrative console, allowing for ongoing surveillance, data exfiltration, or further exploitation of the compromised environment. This creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited repeatedly, as the injected XSS payloads remain active within the server's administrative interface. Organizations using affected versions of WebSphere Application Server face significant risk of unauthorized system modifications, data breaches, and potential complete system takeover.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of IBM WebSphere Application Server, specifically versions 6.1.0.47 and 7.0.0.27 or later. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery as a fundamental web application security flaw. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence within target environments. Additional mitigations include implementing proper input validation, enforcing strict session management, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests. Security teams should also conduct thorough assessments of their administrative console access patterns and implement multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts to reduce the impact of potential exploitation. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and the potential consequences of running unsupported software versions in enterprise environments.