CVE-2016-5894 in WebSphere Commerce Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
IBM WebSphere Commerce Enterprise, Professional, Express, and Developer 7.0 and 8.0 is vulnerable to information disclosure vulnerability. A local user could view a plain text password in a Unix console. IBM Reference #: 1997408.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2020
This vulnerability affects IBM WebSphere Commerce versions 7.0 and 8.0 across Enterprise, Professional, Express, and Developer editions, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that compromises system security. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of authentication credentials within the Unix console environment where plain text passwords are exposed to local users with console access. This weakness allows unauthorized individuals with local system access to potentially obtain sensitive authentication information that should remain protected.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the console logging mechanism failing to properly sanitize or encrypt password values during system operations, resulting in plaintext credentials being written to console output or log files. This behavior violates fundamental security principles and creates an attack surface where local privilege escalation becomes possible. The flaw specifically manifests when the system processes authentication requests through the Unix console interface, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users share the same system or where console access is not properly restricted.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability significantly increases the attack surface for local adversaries who can exploit the information disclosure to gain unauthorized access to system resources. The exposure of plaintext passwords creates immediate risks for credential compromise, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges or access sensitive data within the WebSphere Commerce environment. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the system, undermining the trust model that organizations rely upon for secure commerce operations. This weakness particularly impacts enterprise environments where multiple administrative users might have console access, creating a potential for widespread credential compromise.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses improper exposure of sensitive information, and represents a clear violation of security best practices in credential handling. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1078 for valid accounts and T1552 for credentials in files, as it provides adversaries with access to stored authentication credentials. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including restricting console access to authorized personnel only, implementing proper access controls, and ensuring that system logs do not contain plaintext credentials. Additionally, upgrading to patched versions of IBM WebSphere Commerce, implementing monitoring for unauthorized console access, and conducting regular security audits of system configurations are essential remediation steps to address this vulnerability effectively.