CVE-2014-0929 in Connections
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Profiles component in IBM Connections through 3.0.1.1 CR3 allows remote authenticated users to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that trigger follow actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/10/2019
The CVE-2014-0929 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within IBM Connections Profiles component version 3.0.1.1 CR3 and earlier. This vulnerability specifically targets the authentication mechanisms of the platform, enabling malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated users and the application. The flaw operates by manipulating the web application's expected behavior where legitimate requests are processed without proper verification of user intent, creating a pathway for unauthorized actions to be executed on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the follow action triggers of the Profiles component. When authenticated users navigate to maliciously crafted web pages or receive specially constructed requests, the application processes these requests as legitimate due to the missing validation controls. This allows attackers to perform unauthorized follow actions against other users' profiles without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication hijacking aspect where the system fails to properly verify that requests originate from the intended user rather than from an attacker's malicious domain.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized profile interactions, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of IBM Connections authentication. Attackers can leverage this flaw to manipulate user relationships, potentially spreading malicious content, harvesting user information, or conducting social engineering campaigns. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require physical access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where users frequently interact with web-based collaboration platforms. This vulnerability directly impacts user privacy and data integrity within the social collaboration framework, as it enables unauthorized manipulation of user connections and profile relationships.
Organizations using IBM Connections 3.0.1.1 CR3 or earlier versions face significant risk exposure through this CSRF vulnerability, which aligns with CWE-352, the standardized identifier for Cross-Site Request Forgery. The attack vector follows typical CSRF patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1566 for credential access and T1071 for application layer protocols. Remediation efforts should focus on implementing proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms, ensuring that all state-changing requests require verification tokens that are unique per session and properly validated. IBM released patches and updates to address this vulnerability, and organizations should immediately implement these security fixes. Additionally, network segmentation, web application firewalls, and user education regarding suspicious web interactions can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts.