CVE-2013-4039 in WebSphere
Summary
by MITRE
IBM WebSphere Extended Deployment Compute Grid 8.0 before 8.0.0.3 allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information, and consequently bypass intended access restrictions on jobs, via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2024
IBM WebSphere Extended Deployment Compute Grid version 8.0 before 8.0.0.3 contains a vulnerability that enables remote authenticated attackers to extract sensitive information and circumvent access controls for jobs within the system. This vulnerability resides in the compute grid's authorization mechanisms and represents a critical flaw in the security architecture that governs job execution and resource access. The issue manifests through unspecified vectors that allow attackers with valid credentials to escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to job data and execution parameters that should remain restricted to authorized personnel only. The vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure and access control bypass, which aligns with CWE-200 for information exposure and CWE-284 for improper access control. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can potentially access job configurations, execution logs, data processing parameters, and other sensitive operational details that would normally be protected by the system's security model. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it enables attackers to bypass intended access restrictions on jobs, potentially allowing them to manipulate job execution, access confidential data processed by these jobs, or even gain insights into the organization's computational infrastructure and resource allocation patterns. This vulnerability represents a significant risk to organizations relying on IBM WebSphere Extended Deployment Compute Grid for distributed computing workloads, as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of job-level isolation and access control. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the vulnerability affects the compute grid component that manages distributed job execution across multiple nodes, meaning that successful exploitation could potentially compromise the entire distributed computing environment. Organizations using this software are advised to apply the vendor-provided security patches immediately, as the vulnerability allows for remote exploitation by authenticated users who may already have legitimate access to the system. The flaw demonstrates a failure in the principle of least privilege implementation within the compute grid's security framework, where proper access controls are not adequately enforced for job-related resources. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential access, as attackers leverage existing authenticated sessions to escalate privileges and access restricted job information. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper access control implementation in distributed computing environments where job execution and resource management are critical components of enterprise security infrastructure. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their compute grid deployments to identify potential exploitation paths and ensure that access controls are properly enforced for all job-related resources. The patch addressing CVE-2013-4039 specifically targets the authorization mechanisms that govern job access, ensuring that proper access control checks are enforced before sensitive information can be retrieved or job operations can be performed. This vulnerability highlights the need for continuous security monitoring and patch management processes, particularly in complex distributed computing environments where multiple security controls must work in concert to maintain overall system integrity. The affected IBM WebSphere Extended Deployment Compute Grid version represents a critical security gap that requires immediate remediation to prevent potential data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive computational resources.