CVE-2015-0130 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Jazz Team Server in Jazz Foundation in IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) 4.x before 4.0.7 IF6 and 5.x before 5.0.2 IF5; Rational Quality Manager (RQM) 4.x before 4.0.7 IF6 and 5.x before 5.0.2 IF5; Rational Team Concert (RTC) 4.x before 4.0.7 IF6 and 5.x before 5.0.2 IF5; Rational Requirements Composer (RRC) 4.x through 4.0.7; and Rational DOORS Next Generation (RDNG) 4.x before 4.0.7 IF6 and 5.x before 5.0.2 IF5 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2017
The CVE-2015-0130 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting multiple IBM Rational collaborative software products within the Collaborative Lifecycle Management platform. This vulnerability specifically impacts Jazz Team Server components across various versions of Rational Team Concert, Rational Quality Manager, Rational Requirements Composer, Rational DOORS Next Generation, and Jazz Foundation systems. The flaw exists in the handling of user-provided input within URL parameters, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content. The vulnerability affects IBM Rational CLM 4.x versions prior to 4.0.7 IF6 and 5.x versions prior to 5.0.2 IF5, making it a widespread issue across several major development lifecycle management tools. The affected systems process user-supplied data without adequate sanitization, allowing attackers to exploit this weakness through crafted URL parameters that bypass normal input validation mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated users navigate to specially crafted URLs containing malicious script payloads. The flaw stems from insufficient output encoding and input validation within the application's web interface handling routines. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to execute malicious scripts in the context of a victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized actions within the application. The vulnerability specifically targets the URL parameter processing within the Jazz Foundation framework, which serves as the underlying infrastructure for multiple Rational products. This architectural issue means that a single exploitation vector can potentially affect multiple interconnected applications within the IBM Rational ecosystem, amplifying the impact of the vulnerability across an organization's development and quality management tools. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a well-established category for XSS flaws in web applications.
Operationally, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations utilizing IBM Rational collaborative tools, as it allows remote authenticated attackers to compromise user sessions and potentially escalate privileges within the development lifecycle management environment. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers must first obtain valid credentials, but once achieved, they can leverage this flaw to execute persistent attacks against other users within the same system. The impact extends beyond simple script injection, as attackers can potentially harvest session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users within the Rational applications. Organizations using these tools face potential data breaches, unauthorized code modifications, and disruption of collaborative development processes. The vulnerability particularly affects development teams who rely on these tools for requirement management, quality assurance, and team collaboration, making it a critical concern for software development lifecycle integrity.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates for all affected IBM Rational products, specifically upgrading to versions 4.0.7 IF6 or 5.0.2 IF5 where available. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls should be configured to detect and block suspicious URL patterns containing potential XSS payloads. Input validation mechanisms should be enhanced to properly sanitize all URL parameters before processing, implementing proper output encoding for all dynamic content. Security teams should conduct comprehensive assessments of their Rational CLM environments to identify and remediate any customizations that might exacerbate the vulnerability. Additionally, user education regarding the risks of clicking suspicious links and the importance of maintaining updated credentials should be emphasized. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect collaborative development environments. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect anomalous URL access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter usage and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be performed to identify similar weaknesses in related applications within the development lifecycle management stack.