CVE-2015-5405 in Systems Insight Manager
Summary
by MITRE
HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM) before 7.5.0, as used in HP Matrix Operating Environment before 7.5.0 and other products, allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information, modify data, or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/20/2025
HP Systems Insight Manager version 7.4.0 and earlier contains a vulnerability that affects multiple HP products including the Matrix Operating Environment. This vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and authentication mechanisms within the SIM framework, creating opportunities for remote authenticated attackers to exploit the system through unspecified attack vectors. The flaw allows adversaries with valid credentials to escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, modify critical system data, or disrupt service availability. The vulnerability exists at the application layer where authentication tokens and session management mechanisms fail to properly validate user permissions, enabling privilege escalation attacks that fall under the CWE-284 access control weakness category. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques where attackers leverage legitimate credentials to perform unauthorized operations. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as attackers can manipulate system configurations and potentially cause denial of service conditions that affect availability. The affected systems typically include enterprise server management platforms where SIM serves as a central monitoring and management tool. Organizations running these older versions face significant risks as the vulnerability allows attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially gain administrative privileges. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple attack surfaces within the SIM application may be affected, including web interfaces, API endpoints, and internal communication protocols. This weakness creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited by attackers who have already obtained valid user credentials through various means such as credential theft or social engineering attacks.
The vulnerability represents a critical gap in the security architecture of HP's management platforms, particularly concerning how the system handles authenticated sessions and privilege validation. Attackers can exploit this flaw to perform unauthorized operations that would normally require administrative privileges, effectively undermining the principle of least privilege. The security implications are severe as the system's integrity and confidentiality can be compromised through these unauthorized modifications. The attack surface includes potential manipulation of monitoring data, configuration changes that could affect system stability, and denial of service conditions that impact business continuity. Organizations relying on HP SIM for enterprise server management face risks of data corruption, unauthorized access to sensitive operational information, and potential service disruptions that could affect critical business processes. The vulnerability demonstrates poor implementation of authentication and authorization controls, where session tokens do not properly validate user permissions or track privilege levels. This weakness aligns with ATT&CK techniques for privilege escalation and defense evasion, as attackers can manipulate system state without detection. The impact is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where SIM manages critical infrastructure components and where unauthorized access could lead to widespread system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected systems to HP SIM version 7.5.0 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes to address the access control weaknesses. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to SIM management interfaces and enforce strict access controls through role-based permissions. Additional security measures include monitoring for unauthorized access attempts, implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts, and conducting regular security audits of management interfaces. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and proper access control implementations. Security teams should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious activities related to SIM management interfaces and establish incident response procedures for potential exploitation attempts. Regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other management platforms and ensure proper configuration management practices are in place. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patches to ensure they do not introduce compatibility issues with existing infrastructure components. Organizations should also review their access control policies and ensure that administrative privileges are granted only to authorized personnel with proper justification and oversight. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining secure configurations for enterprise management systems and the potential consequences of failing to address known security weaknesses in critical infrastructure software.