CVE-2015-1992 in Systems Director
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Systems Director 5.2.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.0.x, 6.2.1.x, 6.3.0.0, 6.3.1.x, 6.3.2.x, 6.3.3.x, 6.3.5.0, and 6.3.6.0 improperly processes events, which allows local users to gain privileges via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2022
IBM Systems Director is a comprehensive systems management solution that provides monitoring, configuration, and administration capabilities for enterprise IT infrastructure. The vulnerability CVE-2015-1992 affects multiple versions of this software suite, specifically targeting the event processing mechanisms within the application. This flaw exists in the way the software handles event notifications and processing routines, creating potential privilege escalation opportunities for local attackers who can leverage this weakness to elevate their system privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and privilege management within the event handling subsystem of IBM Systems Director. When the software processes events from various system components, it fails to properly sanitize or validate the event data before executing privileged operations. This weakness allows local users to craft malicious event inputs that can trigger unintended privilege escalation behaviors. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple attack paths exist within the event processing logic, potentially involving different event types or processing contexts within the software architecture. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and represents a classic privilege escalation flaw in enterprise management software.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on IBM Systems Director for their infrastructure management. Local attackers who can access system resources where the software is installed can potentially escalate their privileges to higher-level system accounts, potentially gaining administrative access to managed systems. This creates a serious security risk as it allows attackers to move laterally within the network and access sensitive system information or modify critical configurations. The vulnerability affects multiple release versions, indicating it was a persistent issue within the product lineage that required ongoing patching efforts. Organizations using these specific versions face increased risk of unauthorized access and potential system compromise, particularly in environments where local access controls are not properly enforced.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided security patches for IBM Systems Director versions affected by CVE-2015-1992 to remediate this privilege escalation vulnerability. System administrators should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected software across their infrastructure and prioritize patching activities based on risk exposure. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit local access to systems running IBM Systems Director, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper privilege management in enterprise management tools and highlights the need for thorough input validation in event processing systems. This case also underscores the necessity of regular security updates and vulnerability management programs to address weaknesses in widely deployed enterprise software solutions, as outlined in security frameworks such as the mitre ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques and the NIST cybersecurity framework's vulnerability management practices.