CVE-2015-4998 in WebSphere Portal
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Portal 6.1.0 through 6.1.0.6 CF27, 6.1.5 through 6.1.5.3 CF27, 7.0.0 through 7.0.0.2 CF29, 8.0.0 before 8.0.0.1 CF19, and 8.5.0 before CF08 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-4993.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/28/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4998 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM WebSphere Portal versions spanning multiple release lines including 6.1.0 through 6.1.0.6, 6.1.5 through 6.1.5.3, 7.0.0 through 7.0.0.2, 8.0.0 before 8.0.0.1, and 8.5.0 before CF08. This vulnerability specifically affects the portal's handling of user-supplied input within URL parameters, creating an avenue for remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of a victim's browser session. The flaw operates by failing to properly sanitize or encode user-provided data before rendering it in web responses, thereby enabling attackers to inject persistent or reflected malicious content that executes when other users view the affected pages.
This XSS vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting in software systems and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers can leverage this flaw to inject various scripting languages including javascript, vbscript, or other client-side code. The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks such as credential harvesting, defacement of portal content, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects multiple major versions of IBM WebSphere Portal, indicating a systemic flaw in the input validation and output encoding mechanisms across these releases.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4998 is severe for organizations relying on IBM WebSphere Portal for their enterprise content management and collaboration platforms. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can manipulate portal functionality to inject malicious scripts that persist across user sessions, potentially compromising the entire portal infrastructure. The vulnerability's presence in multiple version streams suggests that organizations may be exposed across their enterprise deployment landscape, from legacy 6.1.0 implementations to more recent 8.5.0 releases. This creates significant challenges for security teams in terms of patch management and vulnerability remediation across different system environments.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, regular security assessments of portal configurations, and deployment of web application firewalls to detect and prevent malicious script injection attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper secure coding practices and input sanitization as outlined in OWASP Top 10 security controls, particularly focusing on the prevention of XSS attacks through proper data validation and context-specific output encoding. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing Content Security Policy headers and regular security audits to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in their web applications and portal environments.