CVE-2015-7425 in Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments
Summary
by MITRE
The Data Protection component in the VMware vSphere GUI in IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware (aka Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments) 6.3 before 6.3.2.5, 6.4 before 6.4.3.1, and 7.1 before 7.1.4 and Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager for VMware (aka Spectrum Protect Snapshot) 3.1 before 3.1.1.3, 3.2 before 3.2.0.6, and 4.1 before 4.1.4 allows remote attackers to obtain administrative privileges via a crafted URL that triggers back-end function execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-7425 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the VMware vSphere GUI components of IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments and Spectrum Protect Snapshot products. This issue affects multiple versions of the software suite, specifically targeting the data protection and snapshot management functionalities that organizations rely upon for virtual machine backup and recovery operations. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper access control mechanisms within the web-based management interface, creating a pathway for unauthenticated attackers to execute administrative functions through specially crafted URLs.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a carefully constructed URL that leverages the application's backend function execution capabilities without proper authentication checks. This flaw falls under the CWE-284 access control weakness category, specifically manifesting as improper access control in web applications where the system fails to properly validate user privileges before executing administrative operations. Attackers can craft malicious URLs that bypass normal authentication mechanisms and directly invoke privileged functions within the vSphere GUI, effectively allowing them to assume administrative roles within the protected environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations utilizing these Tivoli Storage Manager products. Successful exploitation enables remote attackers to gain full administrative control over the VMware virtualization environment, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and disruption of critical backup and recovery operations. The vulnerability affects the core data protection functionality that organizations depend on for maintaining business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities, making it particularly dangerous for enterprises with extensive virtualized infrastructures. Organizations may experience unauthorized access to sensitive virtual machine data, modification of backup policies, and potential disruption of backup operations that could result in data loss or system downtime.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected versions to the recommended secure releases, specifically updating to Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments 6.3.2.5, 6.4.3.1, and 7.1.4, as well as Spectrum Protect Snapshot versions 3.1.1.3, 3.2.0.6, and 4.1.4. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the affected web interfaces, particularly limiting administrative access to trusted networks only. Additionally, organizations should implement robust monitoring and logging of administrative activities to detect unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and access control mechanisms in web applications, aligning with ATT&CK techniques for privilege escalation through web application vulnerabilities. Security teams should conduct comprehensive assessments of their virtualization environments to identify and remediate similar access control weaknesses that could provide similar attack vectors for compromising administrative privileges.