CVE-2016-2983 in Tealeaf Customer Experience
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience 8.7, 8.8, and 9.0.2 could allow a remote attacker under unusual circumstances to read operational data or TLS session state for any active sessions, cause denial of service, or bypass security. IBM X-Force ID: 113999.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2983 affects IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience versions 8.7, 8.8, and 9.0.2, representing a significant security flaw that could be exploited by remote attackers under specific conditions. This issue falls under the category of information disclosure and privilege escalation vulnerabilities, with potential impacts ranging from data exposure to complete service disruption. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of TLS session state and operational data within the application's security architecture.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's failure to properly secure sensitive session information and operational data during TLS communications. Attackers could potentially intercept or access TLS session state information for active connections, enabling them to read operational data that should remain protected. This weakness likely involves inadequate session management mechanisms or insufficient cryptographic protections during data transmission. The vulnerability's exploitation requires specific conditions, suggesting it may involve timing dependencies or particular network configurations that must align for successful attack execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure to include potential denial of service conditions and complete bypass of security controls. When attackers can read TLS session state information, they may be able to reconstruct session tokens or other critical security parameters that would normally remain protected. This capability could enable session hijacking attacks, where malicious actors assume legitimate user identities within the application. The denial of service aspect suggests that the vulnerability may also allow attackers to disrupt normal application operations by manipulating session state information in ways that cause system instability or resource exhaustion.
Organizations utilizing affected IBM Tealeaf versions face substantial risk from this vulnerability, particularly in environments where sensitive customer data is processed or where the application serves as a critical component of business operations. The potential for remote exploitation without requiring authentication makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous, as attackers could leverage it from outside the organization's network perimeter. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of broader application security frameworks, as it represents a failure in proper session management and cryptographic implementation practices.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected systems with IBM's security updates, which would address the underlying session management and TLS handling issues. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in TLS session activity or unauthorized data access attempts. Organizations should also review their session management policies and implement additional cryptographic protections for sensitive data transmission. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-310 (Cryptographic Issues) and CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) categories, while potentially mapping to ATT&CK techniques involving credential access and defense evasion through session manipulation. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to ensure proper implementation of security controls and to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components.