CVE-2013-4832 in Service Manager
Summary
by MITRE
HP Service Manager 9.30 through 9.32 allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/27/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4832 affects HP Service Manager versions 9.30 through 9.32, representing a significant information disclosure flaw that enables remote authenticated attackers to access sensitive system data. This vulnerability resides within HP's service management platform, which is widely deployed across enterprise environments for IT service management operations. The affected versions share common architectural components that fail to properly validate or restrict access to internal system resources, creating potential pathways for unauthorized data exposure. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple attack surfaces within the application may be susceptible to exploitation, indicating a systemic weakness rather than a single point of failure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the HP Service Manager application. When authenticated users interact with the system, the application fails to properly sanitize or restrict data access requests, potentially allowing malicious actors to traverse system boundaries and retrieve information that should remain confidential. This weakness aligns with CWE-200, which categorizes improper output sanitization and information exposure vulnerabilities. The flaw operates at the application layer where user requests are processed, potentially enabling attackers to craft specific requests that bypass normal authorization checks and access database records, configuration files, or system metadata that contains sensitive operational details.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-4832 extends beyond simple data theft, as the exposure of sensitive information can facilitate more sophisticated attacks and compromise overall system security posture. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability could gain access to user credentials, system configurations, service definitions, and potentially business-critical data that would normally be protected within the service management environment. This information disclosure could enable attackers to map the organization's IT infrastructure, identify system dependencies, and plan subsequent attacks targeting other components. The vulnerability's remote nature means attackers do not require physical access to the system, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where the service manager may be exposed to external networks.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the latest security patches released by HP to address the information disclosure vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit unnecessary access to the service manager application, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual data access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and access control implementation as outlined in the mitre ATT&CK framework, specifically addressing techniques related to credential access and reconnaissance activities. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of their service management systems to identify similar vulnerabilities and ensure that all components maintain proper isolation and access controls to prevent unauthorized information disclosure.