CVE-2015-5037 in Connections
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM Connections 3.x before 3.0.1.1 CR3, 4.0 before CR4, 4.5 before CR5, and 5.0 before CR3 allows remote authenticated users to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert XSS sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2018
The CVE-2015-5037 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting IBM Connections versions across multiple release streams including 3.x before 3.0.1.1 CR3, 4.0 before CR4, 4.5 before CR5, and 5.0 before CR3. This vulnerability resides in the web application's insufficient validation of cross-site requests, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit authenticated sessions. The flaw specifically enables remote authenticated users to manipulate the application's behavior by injecting malicious requests that can execute cross-site scripting payloads. The vulnerability operates through the manipulation of session tokens and request parameters that should normally be validated for authenticity and origin. This CSRF weakness fundamentally undermines the application's ability to distinguish between legitimate user requests and maliciously crafted ones, particularly when dealing with user session management and authentication contexts.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within IBM Connections' web framework. When authenticated users interact with the application, the system should verify that requests originate from legitimate sources and contain proper authentication tokens. However, the flaw allows attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to come from legitimate authenticated users, thereby bypassing the application's session validation controls. The vulnerability becomes particularly dangerous when combined with XSS capabilities, as attackers can leverage the CSRF vector to inject malicious scripts that persist within the application's data handling mechanisms. This creates a dangerous combination where CSRF attacks can be used as a delivery mechanism for XSS payloads, potentially leading to complete session hijacking and privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session manipulation to encompass potential data compromise and unauthorized administrative actions. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could perform actions such as creating malicious content, modifying user profiles, accessing restricted data, or even executing commands with elevated privileges. The presence of XSS insertion capabilities within the CSRF attack vector significantly amplifies the threat landscape, as successful exploitation could lead to persistent malware delivery, credential theft, or complete application compromise. Organizations utilizing affected IBM Connections versions face substantial risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability affects the core authentication and session management components of the application, making it particularly challenging to remediate without comprehensive system updates.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-5037 should prioritize immediate patch application to the affected IBM Connections versions, with particular attention to the specific release streams mentioned in the vulnerability description. Organizations should implement additional defensive measures including robust input validation, comprehensive CSRF token implementation, and enhanced session management controls. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious request patterns that could indicate CSRF attack attempts. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of implemented controls. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the privilege escalation and persistence tactics, highlighting the need for comprehensive security monitoring and incident response procedures to detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts.