CVE-2014-4759 in Business Process Manager
Summary
by MITRE
An unspecified Ajax service in the Content Management toolkit in IBM Business Process Manager (BPM) 8.5.x through 8.5.5 allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information by performing a document-attachment search and then reading document properties in the search results.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/11/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-4759 resides within IBM Business Process Manager BPM version 8.5.x through 8.5.5, specifically affecting the Content Management toolkit's Ajax service. This issue represents a significant information disclosure weakness that undermines the system's data protection mechanisms. The vulnerability manifests through an authenticated access path where malicious users can exploit the document-attachment search functionality to retrieve sensitive information that should remain protected. The affected Ajax service operates within the broader content management infrastructure, making it a critical component for data governance and access control.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input validation and insufficient authorization checks within the search functionality of the Content Management toolkit. When users perform document-attachment searches, the system fails to properly restrict access to document properties in the search results, allowing authenticated users to enumerate and access metadata that should be restricted based on user permissions and security policies. This vulnerability specifically targets the information flow between the user interface and backend content management services, creating a pathway for unauthorized data exposure. The flaw aligns with CWE-200, which categorizes improper output sanitization and information exposure vulnerabilities, and demonstrates the classic pattern of insufficient access control mechanisms.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to gather sensitive information about document attachments, including metadata such as file names, creation dates, author information, and potentially content-related properties. The exposure of such information can lead to comprehensive data profiling, enabling more sophisticated attacks including targeted social engineering campaigns, identification of sensitive business processes, and mapping of organizational content repositories. The authenticated nature of the vulnerability means that attackers must first establish valid credentials, but once achieved, they can systematically harvest information from the content management system. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and can be leveraged to support further exploitation attempts.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of broader attack patterns outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly under the information gathering and credential access domains. The vulnerability can be categorized as a data exposure technique that aligns with ATT&CK tactic T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1566 (Phishing for Information). Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including access control reviews, input validation improvements, and monitoring of search functionality usage patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper authorization enforcement even within authenticated sessions and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of web service interfaces. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and privileged access management controls to limit the potential impact of such information disclosure vulnerabilities.