CVE-2015-4966 in Maximo Asset Management
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Maximo Asset Management 7.1 through 7.1.1.13, 7.5.0 before 7.5.0.9 FP009, and 7.6.0 before 7.6.0.2 IFIX001; Maximo Asset Management 7.5.0 before 7.5.0.9 FP009, 7.5.1, and 7.6.0 before 7.6.0.2 IFIX001 for SmartCloud Control Desk; and Maximo Asset Management 7.1 through 7.1.1.13 and 7.2 for Tivoli IT Asset Management for IT and certain other products have a default administrator account, which makes it easier for remote authenticated users to obtain access via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/26/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4966 affects multiple versions of IBM Maximo Asset Management and related products, creating a critical security weakness through the presence of default administrator accounts. This flaw exists across versions 7.1 through 7.1.1.13, 7.5.0 before 7.5.0.9 FP009, and 7.6.0 before 7.6.0.2 IFIX001, with similar issues present in SmartCloud Control Desk and Tivoli IT Asset Management products. The vulnerability represents a fundamental security misconfiguration that provides attackers with pre-established administrative access points, significantly reducing the attack surface required to compromise these asset management systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the inclusion of default administrative accounts with hardcoded credentials that remain active in the system installations. These default accounts typically possess full administrative privileges and are often not disabled or changed during the initial setup process. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that attackers can leverage these accounts through various authentication methods including web interfaces, application programming interfaces, or direct system access, making the attack surface broad and potentially exploitable through multiple attack paths. This weakness directly aligns with CWE-798, which identifies the use of hard-coded credentials as a significant security flaw.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it enables remote authenticated attackers to gain administrative access to critical asset management systems without requiring complex exploitation techniques. This access allows attackers to modify or delete asset records, manipulate system configurations, access sensitive business data, and potentially establish persistent access points within the organization's infrastructure. The vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where Maximo Asset Management serves as a core component for tracking and managing critical assets, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to disrupt business operations or extract valuable information. Organizations using these products face potential compliance violations and significant financial losses due to unauthorized access to critical business assets.
Organizations should immediately implement remediation measures including disabling or removing default administrator accounts, changing default passwords, and implementing strict access controls. The recommended approach involves applying the vendor-provided patches and fixes for the specific affected versions, such as the FP009 for 7.5.0 and IFIX001 for 7.6.0 releases. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive audits of all installed systems to identify and eliminate any remaining default accounts, while implementing robust identity and access management controls. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation techniques, making it particularly dangerous in environments where attackers can leverage legitimate administrative credentials to maintain persistent access and conduct further reconnaissance. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts and ensure proper incident response procedures are in place to address potential exploitation of this vulnerability.