CVE-2014-3915 in Rocket Servergraph
Summary
by MITRE
The userRequest servlet in the Admin Center for Tivoli Storage Manager in Rocket Servergraph allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a (1) auth, (2) auth_session, (3) auth_simple, (4) add, (5) add_flat, (6) remove, (7) set_pwd, (8) add_permissions, (9) revoke_permissions, (10) runAsync, or (11) tsmRequest command.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/04/2018
The CVE-2014-3915 vulnerability represents a critical command injection flaw in the Tivoli Storage Manager Admin Center component of Rocket Servergraph, which operates as a web-based administrative interface for storage management systems. This vulnerability exists within the userRequest servlet that handles various administrative operations through HTTP requests, creating a pathway for remote attackers to execute arbitrary system commands without proper authentication or authorization. The affected commands span across multiple administrative functions including authentication operations, user management, permission settings, and asynchronous task execution, making this a particularly dangerous vulnerability that could allow complete system compromise.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the userRequest servlet, which directly processes user-supplied parameters and incorporates them into system commands without proper escaping or filtering mechanisms. This classic command injection vulnerability allows attackers to append malicious commands to legitimate administrative operations, effectively bypassing normal security controls and gaining unauthorized access to the underlying operating system. The vulnerability affects multiple command types including authentication commands, user management functions, and system execution operations, each providing different attack vectors for privilege escalation and system compromise. According to CWE standards, this maps directly to CWE-77, Command Injection, which is classified as a high-severity weakness due to its potential for complete system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected service account. This could result in complete system compromise, data theft, system modification, or even lateral movement within a network environment. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, install backdoors, modify system configurations, or extract sensitive data from the storage management infrastructure. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed administrative interfaces. This type of vulnerability would typically be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, and potentially T1068 for Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement network segmentation to isolate the affected administrative interfaces from general network access, apply vendor-provided patches or updates, and consider disabling unnecessary administrative web services. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual command execution patterns and unauthorized administrative access attempts. Additionally, implementing proper input validation, output encoding, and principle of least privilege configurations can help mitigate similar vulnerabilities in the future. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of secure coding practices, particularly around input validation and command construction in web applications, and highlights the need for regular security assessments of administrative interfaces to prevent such critical flaws from being exploited in production environments.