CVE-2016-0914 in Documentum Administrator
Summary
by MITRE
EMC Documentum WebTop 6.8 before Patch 13 and 6.8.1 before Patch 02, Documentum Administrator 7.x before 7.2 Patch 13, Documentum Capital Projects 1.9 before Patch 23 and 1.10 before Patch 10, and Documentum TaskSpace 6.7 SP3 allow remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and execute arbitrary IAPI/IDQL commands via the IAPI/IDQL interface.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/24/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical authorization bypass flaw in EMC Documentum products that affects multiple versions across different software components. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the IAPI/IDQL interface, which serves as a core communication channel for Documentum applications. Attackers with valid authentication credentials can exploit this weakness to circumvent intended security boundaries and execute arbitrary commands against the underlying Documentum repository. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions including Documentum WebTop 6.8 before Patch 13 and 6.8.1 before Patch 02, Documentum Administrator 7.x before 7.2 Patch 13, Documentum Capital Projects 1.9 before Patch 23 and 1.10 before Patch 10, and Documentum TaskSpace 6.7 SP3. This represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks that allows privilege escalation through command injection techniques.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the improper sanitization of user-supplied input within the IAPI/IDQL processing pipeline. When authenticated users submit commands through the affected interfaces, the system fails to adequately validate or filter the input parameters before executing them against the Documentum repository. This creates a path where maliciously crafted IAPI/IDQL commands can be injected and executed with the privileges of the authenticated user, potentially escalating to administrative level access depending on the user's permissions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues, and specifically relates to the lack of proper input validation in web applications. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be exploited remotely, making it particularly dangerous as it does not require physical access to the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted across the Documentum ecosystem. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to access, modify, or delete sensitive documents and metadata within the repository, potentially leading to data breaches and compliance violations. Organizations using these affected versions face significant risks including unauthorized access to confidential business information, disruption of document management workflows, and potential system compromise. The vulnerability affects core Documentum functionalities including document storage, retrieval, and administrative operations, making it a critical threat to business continuity. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation and command execution techniques, allowing adversaries to move laterally within the Documentum environment and potentially access related systems through the compromised repository.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches for all affected versions, implementing network segmentation to restrict access to Documentum interfaces, and conducting thorough access control reviews. The most effective solution involves deploying the official security patches released by EMC that address the input validation and authorization bypass issues. Additional defensive measures include implementing web application firewalls to monitor and filter IAPI/IDQL traffic, enabling detailed logging and monitoring of administrative commands, and conducting regular security assessments of Documentum configurations. Security teams should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regularly auditing user permissions to minimize potential damage from exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and proper input validation mechanisms in enterprise content management systems.