CVE-2015-2029 in WebSphere eXtreme Scale
Summary
by MITRE
Session fixation vulnerability in IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale 7.1.0 before 7.1.0.3 and 7.1.1 before 7.1.1.1 allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions via a session identifier.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/11/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-2029 represents a critical session fixation flaw within IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale versions 7.1.0 through 7.1.0.2 and 7.1.1 through 7.1.1.0. This weakness specifically affects the web application session management mechanisms, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the system by manipulating session identifiers. The vulnerability falls under the category of CWE-384, which describes session fixation vulnerabilities where an application fails to properly invalidate session identifiers upon user authentication, allowing attackers to maintain persistent access to user sessions.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs when the web application fails to generate new session identifiers upon successful user authentication or when it reuses existing session identifiers from previous sessions. This allows an attacker who has already established a session to reuse that same session identifier to gain unauthorized access to the target user's session. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the application layer and does not require authentication to the target system, making it accessible to any remote attacker who can intercept or predict session identifiers.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations utilizing IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale for distributed computing and caching solutions. Attackers can exploit this weakness to hijack user sessions, potentially gaining access to sensitive data, performing unauthorized transactions, or executing malicious activities within the application context. The impact extends beyond simple session hijacking as it can lead to complete system compromise when combined with other attack vectors. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.003, which covers session hijacking and credential theft through session fixation attacks.
The exploitation of this vulnerability typically involves an attacker capturing a valid session identifier from a user, either through network sniffing, cross-site scripting attacks, or other reconnaissance techniques, and then using that identifier to establish their own session with the same identifier. This creates a persistent access point that can be used to monitor or manipulate user activities indefinitely. Organizations with web applications built on IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale are particularly vulnerable, as the platform's distributed nature means that session management issues can affect multiple nodes within the cluster.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-2029 require immediate patching of affected IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale versions to 7.1.0.3 or 7.1.1.1, respectively, where IBM has addressed the session fixation vulnerability through proper session identifier regeneration upon user authentication. Organizations should also implement robust session management policies including regular session invalidation, secure session cookie attributes, and proper session timeout mechanisms. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring solutions can help detect suspicious session activity patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and following secure coding practices that prevent session fixation attacks, particularly in enterprise-scale distributed computing environments.