CVE-2015-1894 in InfoSphere Optim Workload Replay
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM InfoSphere Optim Workload Replay 2.x before 2.1.0.3 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert XSS sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-1894 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within IBM InfoSphere Optim Workload Replay version 2.x prior to 2.1.0.3. This security weakness resides in the application's failure to properly validate and enforce anti-CSRF protections during user authentication sessions. The vulnerability specifically enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by crafting malicious requests that can insert cross-site scripting sequences into the targeted system. The flaw operates by exploiting the absence of proper CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms that would normally prevent unauthorized requests from being executed on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's insufficient session management and request validation processes. When users authenticate to the InfoSphere Optim Workload Replay interface, the system should implement robust CSRF protection measures to ensure that requests originate from legitimate sources. However, the vulnerable version fails to adequately verify the authenticity of incoming requests, allowing attackers to construct malicious payloads that can be executed through social engineering or by tricking users into visiting compromised web pages. The insertion of XSS sequences through these CSRF vectors creates a dual threat where attackers can both hijack user sessions and inject malicious scripts into the application's interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking to encompass potential data compromise and system integrity violations. Attackers leveraging this CSRF flaw can execute arbitrary commands on behalf of authenticated users, potentially gaining access to sensitive workload replay data, configuration settings, and operational information. The combination of CSRF exploitation with XSS injection capabilities creates a particularly dangerous scenario where attackers can not only take control of user sessions but also persistently inject malicious code that executes in the context of other users' browsers. This could lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and unauthorized modification of workload replay configurations that are critical for database performance optimization and testing.
Organizations utilizing IBM InfoSphere Optim Workload Replay should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of the vendor-provided patch version 2.1.0.3 or later. The mitigation strategy should include implementing proper CSRF token generation and validation mechanisms across all authenticated endpoints, ensuring that each user session maintains unique and unpredictable tokens that are validated on every state-changing request. Security teams should also consider implementing additional protective measures such as SameSite cookie attributes, referer header validation, and comprehensive web application firewall rules to detect and block suspicious request patterns. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities for initial access and privilege escalation. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the patched environment to ensure that legitimate functionality remains intact while the CSRF protection mechanisms are properly enforced across all application interfaces.