CVE-2014-4801 in Rational Quality Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Rational Quality Manager 2.x through 2.0.1.1, 3.x before 3.0.1.6 iFix 4, 4.x before 4.0.7 iFix 2, and 5.x before 5.0.1 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/02/2018
The CVE-2014-4801 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in IBM Rational Quality Manager versions spanning multiple release lines including 2.x through 2.0.1.1, 3.x before 3.0.1.6 iFix 4, 4.x before 4.0.7 iFix 2, and 5.x before 5.0.1. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability specifically affects IBM Rational Quality Manager, a comprehensive test management solution used by organizations to plan, track, and manage software testing processes.
The technical flaw manifests through the improper validation and sanitization of user-supplied input within the application's URL handling mechanisms. When authenticated users interact with the application and process crafted URLs containing malicious script code, the system fails to adequately sanitize these inputs before rendering them in web responses. This allows remote attackers who have authenticated access to the system to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content that executes in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only authenticated access, meaning that an attacker who has obtained legitimate user credentials can exploit this weakness without requiring additional privileges or complex attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable a range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious websites. An attacker could craft URLs that steal session cookies from other users, potentially gaining unauthorized access to their accounts and the sensitive test data they can access within Rational Quality Manager. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the application's data, as well as potentially compromising the availability of the system through user redirection or browser-based attacks. This represents a significant risk to organizations relying on Rational Quality Manager for managing critical software testing processes and quality assurance activities.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant IBM iFix patches for each affected version line, implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and establishing network monitoring to detect suspicious URL patterns. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through malicious web content, and T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious payloads, conduct regular security assessments of the application, and establish user education programs regarding the risks of clicking suspicious links. Additionally, organizations should review their authentication mechanisms and implement multi-factor authentication to limit the impact of credential compromise. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the patches do not introduce regressions in application functionality while maintaining the security posture against similar vulnerabilities in other components of the Rational Quality Manager suite.