CVE-2016-0273 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 3.0.1.6 before iFix8, 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5; Rational Quality Manager 3.0.1.6 before iFix8, 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5; Rational Team Concert 3.0.1.6 before iFix8, 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5; Rational DOORS Next Generation 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5; Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager 4.x before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5; Rational Rhapsody Design Manager 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5; and Rational Software Architect Design Manager 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11, 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix18, and 6.0 before 6.0.2 iFix5 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/08/2019
This cross-site scripting vulnerability exists within multiple IBM Rational software products including Collaborative Lifecycle Management Quality Manager Team Concert DOORS Next Generation Engineering Lifecycle Manager Rhapsody Design Manager and Software Architect Design Manager. The flaw affects specific version ranges across multiple product lines and allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts through crafted URLs. This represents a classic persistent XSS vulnerability where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web responses. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the web application framework of these products.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the application processes user-supplied URL parameters without sufficient sanitization or encoding. When authenticated users navigate to maliciously crafted URLs containing script payloads the application fails to properly escape or filter the input before displaying it in web pages. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of other users' browsers who view the affected pages. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only authentication to exploit which means that insiders or compromised accounts can leverage this weakness effectively.
From an operational impact perspective this vulnerability creates significant security risks for organizations using these IBM Rational products. Attackers can potentially steal session cookies execute malicious actions on behalf of authenticated users or redirect victims to malicious sites. The vulnerability affects multiple versions across several product lines making it widespread within IBM Rational ecosystems. Organizations may experience data exfiltration unauthorized access to sensitive information and potential compromise of entire development environments where these tools are deployed. The persistent nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited it can affect multiple users over time.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability include applying the relevant IBM iFix patches and updates as released for each affected product version. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to these applications and deploy web application firewalls to detect and block malicious URL patterns. Input validation should be strengthened at multiple layers including application level filtering and output encoding. Additionally security teams should conduct regular vulnerability assessments and monitor for suspicious URL patterns in application logs. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566 related to credential access through malicious web content. Organizations should also consider implementing security awareness training for developers to prevent similar issues in custom web applications built on these platforms.