CVE-2014-0846 in Rational Requirements Composer
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Rational Requirements Composer 3.x before 3.0.1.6 iFix2 and 4.x before 4.0.6, and Rational DOORS Next Generation 4.x before 4.0.6, allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0846 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting IBM Rational Requirements Composer and Rational DOORS Next Generation software products. This security weakness exists in versions prior to specific iFix releases, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on these requirements management tools. The vulnerability specifically impacts users who have authenticated access to the affected systems, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where privileged users frequently interact with requirement management interfaces.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs through the improper handling of user-supplied input within URL parameters. When authenticated users navigate to specially crafted URLs containing malicious script code, the application fails to properly sanitize or escape the input before rendering it in the web interface. This allows attackers with valid credentials to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of other users' sessions, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or privilege escalation. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web-based user interface components of these requirements management tools.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risks to organizations utilizing IBM Rational tools for requirements management and software development processes. Attackers can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to sensitive requirement data, manipulate project information, or establish persistent access to development environments. The authenticated nature of the attack means that adversaries need only obtain legitimate user credentials through phishing, credential theft, or other social engineering techniques to exploit this vulnerability. Organizations with complex development workflows relying on these tools face potential disruption to their requirements management processes and possible exposure of confidential project information.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-0846 primarily involve applying the vendor-provided patches and iFix updates. IBM released specific fixes for both Rational Requirements Composer 3.x and 4.x versions, as well as Rational DOORS Next Generation 4.x, addressing the XSS vulnerability through proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of security updates. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls can provide defense-in-depth measures, while web application firewalls may offer additional protection. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to attack techniques in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under web application attacks and credential access categories, emphasizing the need for both preventive and detective security controls.