CVE-2015-7453 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) 3.0.1 before 3.0.1.6 iFix7 Interim Fix 1, 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix15, and 6.0.x before 6.0.1 iFix4; Rational Quality Manager (RQM) 3.0.x before 3.0.1.6 iFix7 Interim Fix 1, 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix15, and 6.0.x before 6.0.1 iFix4; Rational Team Concert (RTC) 3.0.x before 3.0.1.6 iFix7 Interim Fix 1, 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix15, and 6.0.x before 6.0.1 iFix4; Rational Requirements Composer (RRC) 3.0.x before 3.0.1.6 iFix7 Interim Fix 1 and 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10; Rational DOORS Next Generation (RDNG) 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix15, and 6.0.x before 6.0.1 iFix4; Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager (RELM) 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.0.5, 4.0.6, and 4.0.7 before iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix1, and 6.0.x before 6.0.2; Rational Rhapsody Design Manager (Rhapsody DM) 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix15, and 6.0.x before 6.0.1 iFix4; and Rational Software Architect Design Manager (RSA DM) 4.0.x before 4.0.7 iFix10, 5.0.x before 5.0.2 iFix15, and 6.0.x before 6.0.1 iFix4 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors. IBM X-Force ID: 108296.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2021
The CVE-2015-7453 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting multiple IBM Rational software products within the application lifecycle management ecosystem. This vulnerability exists across various versions of IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management, Rational Quality Manager, Rational Team Concert, Rational Requirements Composer, Rational DOORS Next Generation, Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager, Rational Rhapsody Design Manager, and Rational Software Architect Design Manager. The flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content through unspecified attack vectors, potentially compromising user sessions and data integrity within these enterprise development platforms.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting weaknesses in web applications. The flaw manifests as an insufficient input validation mechanism that fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within web pages. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that get executed in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized data manipulation within the targeted applications. The vulnerability affects multiple major versions and release streams, indicating a fundamental flaw in the input processing logic that was not adequately addressed across the product portfolio.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations utilizing IBM Rational tools for software development lifecycle management. The attack surface extends across various development and quality management processes where users may interact with web interfaces containing unsanitized data inputs. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to access sensitive development information, manipulate project data, or execute malicious code in the context of authenticated user sessions. The widespread nature of affected versions across different Rational products means that organizations operating multiple tools within the IBM Rational ecosystem face compounded security risks, potentially affecting entire development teams and project workflows.
The remediation strategy for this vulnerability involves applying the specific iFix patches released by IBM for each affected product version. Organizations should prioritize patching all affected systems, particularly those handling sensitive development data or serving as central collaboration platforms. Security teams should implement additional monitoring for suspicious user activities and consider network-level controls to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of input validation practices and proper web application security controls, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter usage. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments across their Rational tool environments and establish regular patch management procedures to prevent similar issues in the future.