CVE-2015-0156 in Business Process Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Business Process Manager (BPM) 7.5.x through 7.5.1.2, 8.0.x through 8.0.1.3, and 8.5.x through 8.5.6.0 and WebSphere Lombardi Edition (WLE) 7.2.x through 7.2.0.5 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/03/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0156 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting IBM Business Process Manager versions 7.5.x through 7.5.1.2, 8.0.x through 8.0.1.3, 8.5.x through 8.5.6.0, and WebSphere Lombardi Edition 7.2.x through 7.2.0.5. This vulnerability resides in the web application layer of these enterprise workflow and business process management platforms, creating a persistent security weakness that can be exploited by authenticated attackers who possess valid credentials within the system. The flaw specifically manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user input in URL parameters, allowing malicious scripts to be injected and executed within the context of other users' browsers. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses "Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')", making it a classic and well-documented web application security flaw that has plagued enterprise systems for decades.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated users navigate to a maliciously crafted URL that contains embedded script code within its parameters. The IBM BPM and WLE platforms do not adequately validate or escape user-supplied input before rendering it in web responses, allowing attackers to inject HTML content or JavaScript code that executes in the victim's browser context. This particular flaw enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and manipulation of the application interface. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only authentication to the system, meaning that an attacker who has obtained legitimate user credentials can leverage this weakness to compromise other users within the same system. Attackers can craft URLs that appear legitimate to users, causing them to unknowingly execute malicious code when they access these specially constructed links, which aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1566 for "Phishing" and T1059 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter" within the enterprise attack framework.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-0156 extends beyond simple script injection, creating potential for significant business disruption and data compromise within enterprise environments that utilize IBM BPM or WLE platforms. Organizations using these systems face risks including unauthorized access to sensitive business processes, manipulation of workflow data, and potential exfiltration of confidential information through session manipulation or data theft. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions of both IBM BPM and WLE products means that organizations must urgently assess their entire deployment landscape to identify affected systems and implement appropriate mitigations. System administrators and security teams must understand that this vulnerability can be leveraged for privilege escalation attacks, where attackers use the injected scripts to perform actions beyond their original authentication scope, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-79 also indicates that it represents a fundamental failure in input validation and output sanitization practices that should be addressed through comprehensive security hardening procedures and regular code reviews to prevent similar issues in future development cycles.
Organizations affected by CVE-2015-0156 should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates, implementing robust input validation mechanisms, and conducting thorough security assessments of all web applications within their environment. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while user access controls should be reviewed to ensure that only necessary users have access to potentially vulnerable applications. The vulnerability's nature as a persistent web application flaw also necessitates regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing to identify similar weaknesses in other enterprise applications. Additionally, organizations should implement web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional layers of protection against similar injection attacks, while establishing comprehensive incident response procedures to address potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include not only patching affected systems but also conducting security awareness training for administrators and developers to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future application development cycles.