CVE-2016-3014 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, Rational Quality Manager 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, Rational Team Concert 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, Rational DOORS Next Generation 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager 4.x before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, Rational Rhapsody Design Manager 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, and Rational Software Architect Design Manager 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2016-3014 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting multiple IBM Rational software products within the collaborative lifecycle management ecosystem. This vulnerability specifically impacts versions of IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 4.0 before 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0 before 5.0.2 iFix17, as well as several related products including Rational Quality Manager, Rational Team Concert, Rational DOORS Next Generation, Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager, Rational Rhapsody Design Manager, and Rational Software Architect Design Manager. The flaw exists in the handling of user-supplied input across unspecified vectors within these enterprise-grade development and management platforms.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the affected IBM Rational products. When authenticated users interact with the vulnerable applications, malicious script code can be injected into web pages through various input fields or parameters that are not properly sanitized. This occurs because the applications fail to adequately filter or escape user-provided content before rendering it in web responses, creating opportunities for attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability specifically affects the rendering of content that should be treated as safe but instead becomes executable code, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where privileged users interact with the systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it provides attackers with the ability to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive information, and potentially escalate privileges within the affected systems. In enterprise development environments where these Rational products are deployed, authenticated users typically have significant access rights to project data, requirements, test cases, and development artifacts. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to confidential information, manipulate project data, or establish persistent access to the development environment. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require physical access to the systems, making it particularly concerning for organizations with distributed development teams or remote workers.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with the attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1059.3 for command and scripting interpreter. Organizations using these IBM Rational products should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of the vendor-provided iFixes, specifically 4.0.7 iFix11 and 5.0.2 iFix17 for the affected versions. Additional mitigations should include implementing web application firewalls, conducting regular security assessments, and establishing proper input validation procedures. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches for enterprise development tools, as these platforms often contain sensitive data and require robust protection mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures for handling such security events in their development lifecycle management environments.