CVE-2015-1978 in Tivoli Security Directory Server
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Tivoli Security Directory Server 6.0 before iFix 75, 6.1 before iFix 68, 6.2 before iFix 44, 6.3 before iFix 37, 6.3.1 before iFix 11, and 6.4 before iFix 2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/22/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-1978 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Tivoli Security Directory Server across multiple version ranges, specifically affecting releases 6.0 through 6.4 before their respective iFix patches. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The affected IBM Tivoli Security Directory Server is a comprehensive identity and access management solution that provides directory services for enterprise environments, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit web application vulnerabilities within critical infrastructure systems.
The technical nature of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the web interface components of the Tivoli Security Directory Server. Attackers can leverage this weakness through unspecified vectors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content, which then executes in the context of other users' browsers when they access affected pages. This typically occurs when user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web responses, allowing malicious payloads to be stored and subsequently executed without proper authorization. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can be exploited to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive authentication tokens, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users within the application's security context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability within enterprise environments is substantial, particularly given that IBM Tivoli Security Directory Server serves as a foundational component for identity management and access control across organizations. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to sensitive directory information, compromise user authentication processes, or establish persistent access points within the enterprise network. The vulnerability affects multiple major versions of the software, indicating a systemic issue in the application's input handling and output encoding mechanisms that requires comprehensive patching across all affected releases. Organizations utilizing these versions face significant risk of data breaches, privilege escalation attacks, and potential lateral movement within their networks, as the compromised directory server could provide attackers with access to critical user credentials and access control information.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of the respective iFix patches for each affected version, as these updates contain the necessary code modifications to properly validate and sanitize user input before rendering it in web responses. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the patched systems to ensure no regression issues affect the directory server's functionality while maintaining the security improvements. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts through unusual traffic patterns or suspicious script execution attempts. Security teams should also implement web application firewalls and content security policies to add defense-in-depth layers against potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing with Spoofed Credentials" highlights the potential for attackers to leverage this weakness to create convincing phishing campaigns that could bypass traditional security controls, making the remediation process even more critical for maintaining overall security posture.