CVE-2014-2210 in ERwin Web Portal
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in CA ERwin Web Portal 9.5 allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information, bypass intended access restrictions, cause a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2026
The CVE-2014-2210 vulnerability represents a critical directory traversal flaw affecting CA ERwin Web Portal version 9.5, a widely used data modeling and database design platform. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the web application's file handling processes, creating exploitable pathways for malicious actors to manipulate file access requests. The vulnerability manifests through unspecified vectors that allow attackers to navigate beyond the intended application directories, potentially accessing sensitive system files, configuration data, and restricted resources. Such flaws typically arise from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input parameters that are directly used in file system operations without proper validation or normalization.
The technical exploitation of this directory traversal vulnerability enables attackers to perform unauthorized file system operations by manipulating path traversal sequences such as ../ or ..\ in file access requests. This weakness allows adversaries to bypass access controls and potentially escalate privileges within the application environment. The vulnerability's impact extends across multiple attack vectors including information disclosure, access restriction bypass, denial of service conditions, and in some cases, arbitrary code execution. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the application may be susceptible to similar traversal attacks, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could be exploited through various application interfaces or request types.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations utilizing CA ERwin Web Portal 9.5, as it could compromise sensitive business data, intellectual property, and system integrity. The potential for information disclosure means that attackers could access database schemas, user credentials, system configurations, and other confidential information stored within the application's file structure. The denial of service capability could disrupt business operations by making the web portal unavailable to legitimate users, while the arbitrary code execution risk could enable full system compromise and lateral movement within the network infrastructure. Organizations relying on this platform for database design and data modeling activities face heightened exposure given the critical nature of the data handled by such applications.
Security practitioners should implement comprehensive mitigations including immediate patch deployment from CA Technologies, which would address the underlying input validation flaws in the web portal's file handling components. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of the vulnerable application to untrusted networks and users. Input validation should be enhanced at multiple layers including application firewalls, web application firewalls, and application code level to prevent malicious traversal sequences from reaching file system operations. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications within the organization's attack surface, as directory traversal flaws often follow similar patterns across different software platforms. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-22 (Improper Limiting of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) and maps to attack techniques within the MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) for exploitation scenarios. Organizations should also consider implementing automated vulnerability scanning tools to detect similar path traversal vulnerabilities in their application portfolios, as these flaws often remain undetected for extended periods due to their subtle nature and the complexity of web application security testing.