CVE-2015-6254 in PicketLink
Summary
by MITRE
The (1) Service Provider (SP) and (2) Identity Provider (IdP) in PicketLink before 2.7.0 does not ensure that the Destination attribute in a Response element in a SAML assertion matches the location from which the message was received, which allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via unknown vectors. NOTE: this identifier was SPLIT from CVE-2015-0277 per ADT2 due to different vulnerability types.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/12/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-6254 affects PicketLink identity management solutions prior to version 2.7.0, specifically targeting both Service Provider and Identity Provider components within SAML assertion processing. This security flaw resides in the SAML 2.0 protocol implementation where the system fails to validate the Destination attribute in SAML Response elements against the actual receiving endpoint. The absence of this validation creates a critical trust boundary issue that can be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate SAML authentication flows.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper handling of SAML Response validation mechanisms where the system accepts SAML assertions without verifying that the Destination attribute matches the expected recipient endpoint. This vulnerability falls under CWE-284, which addresses insufficient access control in security frameworks, and specifically relates to improper validation of SAML message destinations. The issue enables attackers to craft malicious SAML responses that could be accepted by systems that do not properly validate this critical attribute, potentially allowing unauthorized access or authentication bypass scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple authentication bypasses as it creates opportunities for man-in-the-middle attacks and session hijacking within SAML-based authentication environments. Attackers could exploit this weakness to redirect SAML responses to unintended destinations, potentially capturing authentication tokens or redirecting users to malicious endpoints. This vulnerability represents a significant risk in enterprise environments relying on SAML for single sign-on implementations, where the lack of destination validation could compromise the entire authentication infrastructure. The unspecified impact mentioned in the CVE description suggests potential for various attack vectors including authentication manipulation, session fixation, or credential theft depending on the specific implementation and environment configuration.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to PicketLink version 2.7.0 or later to address this vulnerability, as the fix implements proper validation of the Destination attribute in SAML Response elements. Additional mitigations include implementing network-level controls to restrict SAML endpoint access, monitoring for unauthorized SAML response patterns, and ensuring that all SAML implementations properly validate message destinations. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering and authentication manipulation, and demonstrates the importance of proper protocol implementation in identity management systems. Security teams should conduct thorough assessments of their SAML-based authentication environments to identify any systems that may be vulnerable to similar destination validation issues, particularly in federated identity deployments where multiple parties participate in the authentication process.