CVE-2015-4988 in Tealeaf Customer Experience
Summary
by MITRE
Directory traversal vulnerability in the replay server in IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience before 8.7.1.8818, 8.8 before 8.8.0.9026, 9.0.0, 9.0.0A, 9.0.1 before 9.0.1.1083, 9.0.1A before 9.0.1.5073, 9.0.2 before 9.0.2.1095, and 9.0.2A before 9.0.2.5144 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/17/2018
The CVE-2015-4988 vulnerability represents a critical directory traversal flaw within IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience's replay server component, affecting multiple version ranges across the 8.x and 9.x series. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-22 category, which specifically addresses improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal or directory traversal attacks. The vulnerability exists in the replay server functionality that processes and serves customer experience data, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can exploit improper input validation mechanisms to access arbitrary files on the underlying system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input within the replay server's file access routines. Attackers can manipulate request parameters to traverse directory structures and access files outside of the intended application directories. This flaw allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files, potentially including sensitive configuration files, database credentials, application source code, and other confidential data stored on the server. The unspecified vectors suggest that the vulnerability could be exploited through multiple attack pathways, including HTTP requests, API calls, or direct protocol interactions with the replay server component.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables attackers to bypass normal access controls and extract sensitive information from the affected systems. Organizations using IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience in production environments face significant risks including data breaches, intellectual property theft, and potential system compromise. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require local access or credentials to leverage the flaw, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where the replay server might be exposed to untrusted networks. Additionally, the vulnerability could facilitate further attacks by providing attackers with information about the system's configuration, file structure, and potentially sensitive data that could be used for privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates for all affected versions of IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience, specifically targeting the mentioned version ranges. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the replay server component, limiting exposure to only trusted sources. Input validation should be enhanced at all application layers to prevent malicious path manipulation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application), indicating that attackers may use this vulnerability to gather system information and establish persistent access. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar path traversal vulnerabilities in other components of the application stack, as this flaw demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and access control implementation.