CVE-2015-6468 in Resource Data Management Data Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Resource Data Management Data Manager before 2.2 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of unspecified victims via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/01/2018
The CVE-2015-6468 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Resource Data Management Data Manager product line prior to version 2.2. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of web application security weaknesses that specifically target the authentication and authorization mechanisms of web applications. The vulnerability enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to resources or perform actions on behalf of legitimate users without their knowledge or consent. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that the flaw could be exploited through multiple methods, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as defenders struggle to identify all potential attack surfaces.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence or insufficient validation of request origins within the application's session management and authentication flows. When users interact with the Resource Data Management Data Manager, legitimate requests should be validated to ensure they originate from authorized sources and are properly authenticated. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated users, exploiting the trust relationship between the web application and its users. This type of flaw typically occurs when the application fails to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or when it relies solely on cookies for authentication without additional verification mechanisms. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers the use of credential access techniques through web application vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to potentially compromising entire user sessions and data integrity within the Resource Data Management environment. Attackers could leverage this flaw to perform actions such as modifying user permissions, accessing sensitive data, creating new user accounts, or executing administrative functions depending on the application's privilege structure. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur from any location without requiring physical access to the target network or system. Organizations using affected versions of the Resource Data Management Data Manager could face significant security breaches, data loss, and potential compliance violations if attackers successfully exploit this vulnerability. The attack could also serve as a foothold for more sophisticated attacks, potentially leading to full system compromise or lateral movement within the network.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-6468 should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms and upgrading to patched versions of the Resource Data Management Data Manager. Organizations must ensure that all web applications implement proper CSRF token validation, where each request contains a unique, unpredictable token that is validated server-side before processing. The recommended approach includes implementing the synchronizer token pattern or using the SameSite cookie attributes to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their web applications to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities throughout their infrastructure. The upgrade to version 2.2 or later of the Resource Data Management Data Manager represents the primary defense against this specific vulnerability, as it would incorporate the necessary security patches and validation mechanisms. Security teams should also implement monitoring and logging of authentication events to detect potential CSRF attack attempts and establish incident response procedures for rapid mitigation when such vulnerabilities are exploited.