CVE-2013-6319 in Algo One
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Algo One, as used in MetaData Management Tools in UDS 4.7.0 through 5.0.0, ACSWeb in Algo Security Access Control Management 4.7.0 through 4.9.0, and ACSWeb in AlgoWebApps 5.0.0, allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and read content via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-6319 represents a critical access control flaw within IBM Algo One implementations across multiple security management platforms. This vulnerability affects Metadata Management Tools in UDS versions 4.7.0 through 5.0.0, as well as ACSWeb components in Algo Security Access Control Management 4.7.0 through 4.9.0 and AlgoWebApps 5.0.0. The flaw manifests as an insufficient authorization mechanism that permits remote authenticated users to circumvent intended access restrictions and gain unauthorized read access to protected content. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user permissions and access controls within the application's security framework, creating a pathway for malicious actors to escalate their privileges without proper authentication credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves unspecified vectors that likely exploit weaknesses in the access control model's enforcement mechanisms. According to CWE classification, this corresponds to CWE-285: Improper Authorization, which occurs when an application fails to properly verify that an authenticated user has adequate permissions to perform a requested operation. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it allows attackers to bypass security controls that should prevent unauthorized data access, potentially exposing sensitive metadata and configuration information that could be leveraged for further attacks. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways within the application's security architecture may be susceptible to exploitation, making the vulnerability particularly concerning for comprehensive security assessments.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations utilizing IBM Algo One security platforms, as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of access control systems. The remote nature of the attack means that malicious actors can exploit this flaw from outside the organization's network perimeter, while the authenticated requirement suggests that attackers may need to first obtain valid credentials through social engineering, credential theft, or other initial compromise techniques. The ability to read content through this bypass mechanism could expose sensitive business data, configuration files, user information, and system metadata that would normally be protected by the access control framework. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078: Valid Accounts, as it leverages legitimate authenticated sessions to perform unauthorized actions, and T1566: Phishing, as the initial compromise often occurs through credential theft or social engineering attacks.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying vendor patches and updates to the affected IBM Algo One implementations, reviewing and strengthening access control policies, and conducting comprehensive security assessments of the affected systems. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unauthorized access attempts, while privileged account management procedures should be reviewed to minimize the impact of credential compromise. Security teams should also consider implementing additional layers of access control enforcement and regular auditing of access logs to identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification as a critical access control flaw emphasizes the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar weaknesses in security infrastructure components. Organizations using these platforms should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems and access control monitoring to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.