CVE-2013-0581 in Business Process Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in IBM Business Process Manager (BPM) 7.5.1.x, 8.0.0.x, and 8.0.1 before FP1 allow remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors involving (1) ProcessPortal/jsp/socialPortal/dashboard.jsp, (2) teamworks/executeServiceByName, (3) portal/jsp/viewAdHocReportWizard.do, or (4) rest/bpm/wle/v1/process.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/18/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0581 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness affecting IBM Business Process Manager versions 7.5.1.x, 8.0.0.x, and 8.0.1 before fix pack 1. This vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications. The flaw permits remote authenticated attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of the affected application, potentially compromising user sessions and data integrity. The vulnerability manifests through four distinct attack vectors including ProcessPortal/jsp/socialPortal/dashboard.jsp, teamworks/executeServiceByName, portal/jsp/viewAdHocReportWizard.do, and rest/bpm/wle/v1/process endpoints.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an authenticated user within the IBM BPM environment, which significantly reduces the attack surface compared to fully unauthenticated exploits. However, the impact remains severe as authenticated users typically possess elevated privileges and access to sensitive business process data. Attackers can leverage these vectors to inject malicious scripts that persist within the application's user interface, potentially stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or modifying displayed content. The attack vectors span across different functional areas of the BPM platform, indicating a systemic weakness in input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's codebase. This widespread presence of XSS vulnerabilities across multiple endpoints suggests insufficient sanitization of user-supplied data before rendering in web pages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, data theft, and potentially escalate privileges within the BPM environment. The presence of XSS vulnerabilities in REST endpoints like rest/bpm/wle/v1/process particularly concerning as these interfaces often handle sensitive process data and may be accessed by automated systems. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, and T1566.001 for spearphishing via social engineering, as attackers could use the XSS to deliver additional malicious payloads or redirect users to phishing sites. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions and fix packs indicates a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture that required immediate attention.
Organizations utilizing IBM BPM versions affected by CVE-2013-0581 should implement immediate mitigations including applying the appropriate fix packs and security updates from IBM. Input validation should be strengthened across all identified endpoints, with particular attention to the four vulnerable paths mentioned in the vulnerability description. Web application firewalls should be configured to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts, while output encoding mechanisms must be enhanced to prevent malicious content from being rendered as executable code. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive code reviews focusing on the identified attack vectors to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and implementing proper input sanitization techniques as outlined in OWASP Top Ten security guidelines, particularly focusing on preventing XSS attacks through proper encoding and validation of user inputs.