CVE-2013-5378 in WebSphere Portal
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Portal 8.x before 8.0.0.1 CF8 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML by leveraging incorrect IBM Connections integration.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/02/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-5378 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM WebSphere Portal version 8.x prior to the 8.0.0.1 Cumulative Fix 8 release. This security weakness specifically affects the integration between IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Connections, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of authenticated user sessions. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to adequately sanitize user-supplied data when processing connections integration components.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of input parameters within the IBM Connections integration framework, where authenticated users can leverage their session privileges to inject malicious payloads. The flaw exists because the portal application does not properly encode or escape user-provided content before rendering it in web pages, allowing attackers to inject script tags or other HTML elements that execute within the browser context of other users. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a reflected XSS variant where the malicious input is processed and reflected back to users without proper sanitization. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires only authentication to the portal system, meaning that any authenticated user with sufficient privileges can potentially exploit this weakness.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-5378 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive user credentials, or redirect victims to malicious websites. In a corporate environment utilizing IBM WebSphere Portal for collaboration and information sharing, this vulnerability could allow unauthorized individuals to access confidential data, manipulate shared content, or escalate their privileges within the system. The attack requires minimal technical expertise and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with large user bases where the potential for widespread impact increases. The vulnerability's integration with IBM Connections amplifies its danger since this component often handles sensitive business information and user-generated content that could be compromised.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the available IBM Cumulative Fix 8 for WebSphere Portal 8.0.0.1, which addresses the input validation and output encoding issues that enable the XSS attack. Additional mitigations include implementing proper input validation at multiple layers of the application architecture, enforcing strict output encoding for all user-supplied data, and configuring web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other integration points that may be susceptible to similar issues, particularly those involving third-party collaboration tools. The remediation process must include thorough testing to ensure that the applied fixes do not introduce regressions in functionality while maintaining the security posture of the portal environment. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures that can quickly address any successful attacks that may occur before full patch deployment is completed.