CVE-2014-6173 in Business Process Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Process Inspector in IBM Business Process Manager (BPM) 8.0.x through 8.0.1.3 and 8.5.x through 8.5.5 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6173 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Business Process Manager's Process Inspector component. This security weakness affects multiple versions of IBM BPM including 8.0.x through 8.0.1.3 and 8.5.x through 8.5.5, creating a significant risk for organizations utilizing these business process management platforms. The vulnerability specifically resides in the handling of URL parameters within the Process Inspector module, which fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it in web responses.
The technical nature of this flaw stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the IBM BPM web interface. When authenticated users navigate to specific URLs containing malicious script payloads, the system processes these parameters without sufficient sanitization, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content. This vulnerability operates under the CWE-79 classification as a cross-site scripting attack, where the system fails to properly escape or validate user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. The flaw specifically targets the Process Inspector functionality, which is designed to provide administrators and authorized users with detailed process monitoring capabilities, making it a particularly attractive target for malicious actors seeking to compromise business process management environments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of authenticated user sessions. This means that any user with valid credentials to access the Process Inspector can become a vector for further attacks, potentially allowing adversaries to escalate privileges, access sensitive business process data, or even manipulate workflow executions. The remote authenticated nature of the vulnerability indicates that attackers do not require physical access or additional credentials beyond legitimate user accounts, making the attack surface significantly broader. Organizations relying on IBM BPM for critical business operations face potential disruption to their process management workflows, data integrity concerns, and possible compliance violations when such vulnerabilities exist in their systems.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by IBM, which address the input validation issues in the Process Inspector component. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring and filtering malicious URL patterns before they reach the vulnerable application components. Access controls should be reviewed to ensure that only necessary users have access to the Process Inspector functionality, reducing the potential attack surface. Regular security assessments and input validation testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the IBM BPM platform. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which involves phishing with malicious attachments or links, as attackers could exploit this vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads through crafted URLs that appear legitimate within the business process management interface. Additionally, implementing proper output encoding and Content Security Policy headers can help prevent successful exploitation of similar XSS vulnerabilities in the future.