CVE-2015-0108 in Maximo for Utilities
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Maximo Asset Management 7.1 through 7.1.1.8, and Maximo Asset Management 7.1 through 7.1.1.8 and 7.2 for Tivoli IT Asset Management for IT and certain other products, allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-0104, CVE-2015-0107, and CVE-2015-0109.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/21/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0108 represents a cross-site scripting weakness affecting IBM Maximo Asset Management versions 7.1 through 7.1.1.8 and 7.2 within Tivoli IT Asset Management for IT environments. This security flaw falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a classic XSS vulnerability that enables attackers to execute malicious scripts in victim browsers. The vulnerability impacts both the Maximo Asset Management platform and related Tivoli IT Asset Management products, indicating a widespread exposure across IBM's asset management portfolio.
The technical nature of this vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content through unspecified vectors within the application's web interface. Unlike other related vulnerabilities such as CVE-2015-0104, CVE-2015-0107, and CVE-2015-0109, this particular flaw manifests through different attack vectors while maintaining the same fundamental XSS characteristics. The authenticated nature of the attack means that an attacker must first establish valid credentials within the system, though this access level still presents significant risk given the potential for lateral movement and data exfiltration. The unspecified vectors suggest that the vulnerability could be exploited through multiple entry points within the web application's user interface components.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-0108 extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with the capability to manipulate user sessions, steal sensitive information, and potentially escalate privileges within the Maximo environment. This vulnerability can be leveraged to perform session hijacking attacks, redirect users to malicious websites, or extract confidential data from the asset management system. The attack surface includes various web-based interfaces used by administrators and end users for asset tracking, maintenance scheduling, and inventory management. Given that Maximo Asset Management handles critical business data including asset lifecycle information, maintenance records, and financial tracking, successful exploitation could result in significant operational disruption and data compromise.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability, including input validation, output encoding, and regular security updates. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, with potential lateral movement through T1566 for Phishing and T1071.001 for Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols. Organizations should prioritize patch management for affected IBM Maximo versions, implement web application firewalls to monitor and filter malicious script injections, and conduct regular security assessments of web interfaces. Additionally, user education regarding suspicious web content and session management best practices remains crucial in reducing the attack surface for authenticated XSS vulnerabilities.