CVE-2013-0541 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 6.1 before 6.1.0.47, 7.0 before 7.0.0.29, 8.0 before 8.0.0.6, and 8.5 before 8.5.0.2 on Windows, when a localOS registry is used in conjunction with WebSphere Identity Manger (WIM), allows local users to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/10/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0541 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within IBM WebSphere Application Server versions 6.1 prior to 6.1.0.47, 7.0 prior to 7.0.0.29, 8.0 prior to 8.0.0.6, and 8.5 prior to 8.5.0.2 running on Windows platforms. This security weakness specifically manifests when the application server utilizes a local operating system registry in combination with WebSphere Identity Manager functionality. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and memory management practices within the WIM component that processes registry information, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by local attackers to disrupt service availability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper bounds checking during the processing of registry entries within the WebSphere Identity Manager subsystem. When the system attempts to handle registry data through the localOS registry mechanism, insufficient buffer size validation allows malicious input to overwrite adjacent memory regions. This buffer overflow condition specifically affects the daemon processes responsible for maintaining the application server's operational state, leading to unexpected termination and complete service disruption. The vulnerability's exploitation requires local system access and leverages the interaction between registry processing and identity management functions, making it particularly insidious as it operates within the trusted local environment.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to enterprise environments relying on IBM WebSphere Application Server for critical business applications. The denial of service condition causes complete daemon crashes, effectively rendering the application server unavailable to legitimate users and potentially disrupting business operations. The vulnerability's local privilege requirement means that attackers must already have access to the system to exploit it, but this access level is often achievable through various attack vectors including social engineering, compromised credentials, or other initial compromise techniques. Organizations using affected WebSphere versions face potential service interruptions, data access delays, and operational downtime that can have substantial financial and reputational consequences.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation that can lead to memory corruption. From an adversary perspective, this flaw maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network disruption through service denial, and potentially T1068, which involves exploit for privilege escalation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches for each affected version, implementing network segmentation to limit local access, and establishing monitoring for abnormal daemon termination events. Additionally, security teams should consider disabling unnecessary registry integration with WIM components when possible, and maintain comprehensive logging of registry access patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of regular security patch management and proper input validation practices in enterprise application servers, particularly those handling sensitive identity information through integrated identity management systems.