CVE-2013-2985 in Sterling File Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Sterling B2B Integrator 5.1 and 5.2 and Sterling File Gateway 2.1 and 2.2 allow remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information about application implementation via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-0463, CVE-2013-2987, CVE-2013-3020, CVE-2013-0568, CVE-2013-0475, and CVE-2013-0567.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/12/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2985 affects IBM Sterling B2B Integrator versions 5.1 and 5.2, as well as Sterling File Gateway versions 2.1 and 2.2, representing a significant information disclosure weakness that enables remote authenticated attackers to gain insights into the underlying application architecture. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of information disclosure flaws that can provide adversaries with valuable intelligence for subsequent exploitation attempts. The flaw specifically permits attackers who have already established authentication credentials to access sensitive implementation details that should remain confidential within the system's operational environment. Unlike related vulnerabilities such as CVE-2013-0463, CVE-2013-2987, CVE-2013-3020, CVE-2013-0568, CVE-2013-0475, and CVE-2013-0567, this particular issue manifests through distinct attack vectors that exploit different aspects of the application's security model. The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which specifically addresses the exposure of sensitive information to unauthorized actors, making it a critical concern for organizations relying on these IBM integration platforms for business-critical processes.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-2985 extends beyond simple data leakage, as the acquired information about application implementation can serve as a foundation for more sophisticated attacks targeting the system's core infrastructure. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gain knowledge about internal system structures, component interactions, and potential weak points that would otherwise remain hidden to legitimate users. This intelligence gathering capability significantly reduces the attack surface for subsequent exploitation attempts, potentially enabling adversaries to craft more effective targeted attacks against the system's authentication mechanisms, data processing workflows, or integration endpoints. The vulnerability's classification as an information disclosure issue means that while it may not directly enable privilege escalation or system compromise, it provides crucial reconnaissance data that can dramatically increase the effectiveness of future attack phases. Organizations utilizing these IBM platforms face heightened risk of advanced persistent threats where initial reconnaissance through this vulnerability could lead to complete system compromise. The exposure of implementation details also poses risks to intellectual property and business process confidentiality, particularly in environments where the integration platform handles sensitive transactional data or proprietary business workflows.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including comprehensive access control reviews, network segmentation to limit the scope of potential exploitation, and regular security assessments to identify similar information disclosure vulnerabilities within their IBM Sterling platform deployments. The vulnerability's nature suggests that proper input validation and output filtering mechanisms are insufficiently implemented within the affected applications, necessitating architectural reviews of how sensitive information is handled during normal operational procedures. Security teams should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions specifically designed to detect anomalous access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts targeting information disclosure vulnerabilities. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability directly impacts organizations subject to regulations such as pci dss, hipaa, and soc 2, where unauthorized disclosure of system implementation details could constitute regulatory violations. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under information gathering techniques, where adversaries collect system information to inform later attack phases, making it essential for security teams to understand the full attack lifecycle implications. Organizations should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify similar implementation flaws in other IBM products and related integration platforms, as the architectural patterns that create this vulnerability may exist in other components of their technology stack.