CVE-2015-7446 in Flash System V9000
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM Flash System V9000 7.4 before 7.4.1.4, 7.5 before 7.5.1.3, and 7.6 before 7.6.0.4 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert XSS sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2019
The CVE-2015-7446 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting IBM Flash System V9000 storage appliances across multiple versions including 7.4 before 7.4.1.4, 7.5 before 7.5.1.3, and 7.6 before 7.6.0.4. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the authentication mechanisms of the storage management interface, creating a significant security risk for enterprise environments that rely on these systems for data storage and management operations. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the system's insufficient validation of cross-site requests, allowing them to manipulate authenticated sessions and execute malicious actions through crafted requests that leverage existing user sessions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from inadequate protection mechanisms within the IBM Flash System V9000 web-based management interface. When legitimate users authenticate to the system, their session tokens remain valid and are not sufficiently validated against cross-site requests. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in web applications to submit requests that leverage the authenticated user's session without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to insert cross-site scripting sequences into the system, potentially enabling them to execute arbitrary code within the context of the authenticated user's session, thereby compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the storage environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking, as it creates a pathway for attackers to perform unauthorized administrative actions on the storage systems. Remote attackers could potentially modify storage configurations, access sensitive data, or manipulate storage resources without proper authorization, leading to data breaches, service disruption, and potential compliance violations. The vulnerability affects the core management functionality of the IBM Flash System V9000, which is critical for enterprise storage management, making it a high-value target for threat actors seeking to compromise storage infrastructure. Organizations relying on these systems for mission-critical data storage face significant risk of unauthorized access and potential data loss, particularly in environments where storage systems are directly exposed to untrusted networks.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches for the affected versions of IBM Flash System V9000, implementing network segmentation to limit access to management interfaces, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and prevent CSRF attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1566 related to credential access through social engineering and web application attacks. Additional protective measures include implementing proper session management, requiring multi-factor authentication for administrative access, and conducting regular security assessments of storage management interfaces to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious patterns of cross-site requests that could indicate exploitation attempts, and access controls should be reviewed to ensure that only authorized personnel can perform administrative functions on storage systems.