CVE-2014-4785 in Initiate Master Data Service
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM Initiate Master Data Service 9.5 before 9.5.093013, 9.7 before 9.7.093013, 10.0 before 10.0.093013, and 10.1 before 10.1.093013 allows remote authenticated users to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert XSS sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/15/2018
The CVE-2014-4785 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in IBM Initiate Master Data Service across multiple versions including 9.5, 9.7, 10.0, and 10.1. This vulnerability specifically affects systems running versions prior to the mentioned patches and allows authenticated remote attackers to exploit the system by hijacking user sessions. The flaw operates through a CSRF mechanism that enables attackers to force authenticated users to perform actions without their knowledge or consent, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where master data services manage critical business information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins within the IBM Initiate Master Data Service application. When authenticated users navigate to malicious web pages or interact with compromised content, the system fails to properly verify that requests originate from legitimate sources within the application domain. This weakness allows attackers to craft specially crafted requests that, when executed by authenticated users, can insert malicious cross-site scripting sequences into the system. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication handling mechanisms, enabling attackers to leverage existing user sessions to perform unauthorized operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or modification, as it provides attackers with the capability to inject malicious scripts that can persist within the system and potentially compromise additional user sessions. This creates a cascading security risk where a single successful exploitation can lead to widespread unauthorized access across the master data service environment. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of master data management systems, which typically contain sensitive business information including customer data, product catalogs, and financial records that are critical to enterprise operations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the vendor-provided patches for each affected version to remediate the CSRF validation issues. Network segmentation and web application firewalls should be deployed to monitor and filter suspicious requests that attempt to manipulate authenticated sessions. Security teams should also implement additional authentication controls including multi-factor authentication and enhanced session management practices. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery, and represents a significant concern under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and persistence techniques. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar implementation flaws in other enterprise applications that handle sensitive data management functions.
The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and origin verification in web applications. Organizations must ensure that all authenticated requests undergo rigorous validation processes that verify the legitimacy of the request source and maintain proper session integrity. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the software development lifecycle, particularly for applications that handle master data services where the impact of security breaches can be substantial and far-reaching.