CVE-2016-5900 in Tealeaf Customer Experience
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience on Cloud Network Capture Add-On could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly validate the TLS certificate. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information using man in the middle techniques.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5900 affects IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience on Cloud Network Capture Add-On, a component designed to capture and analyze network traffic for customer experience monitoring purposes. This flaw represents a critical security weakness in the application's cryptographic implementation that undermines the integrity of secure communications. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of Transport Layer Security certificates, creating an exploitable gap in the security infrastructure that could compromise sensitive data transmission.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the add-on's failure to properly validate TLS certificates during the secure communication establishment process. This validation failure creates a pathway for attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that would otherwise be rejected by proper certificate validation mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically impacts the certificate validation routines that should verify the authenticity and trustworthiness of SSL/TLS certificates used in secure connections. According to CWE classification, this represents a weakness in cryptographic implementation under CWE-327, specifically related to the use of weak or improperly implemented cryptographic protocols that fail to provide adequate security guarantees.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise the entire secure communication channel. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could intercept and potentially modify data transmitted between the network capture add-on and its destination systems, leading to unauthorized access to customer information, session data, and other sensitive operational details. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that this vulnerability affects a monitoring tool designed to capture network traffic, potentially allowing attackers to gain visibility into otherwise protected communications. This weakness directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 for credential harvesting and T1041 for data compression, as it enables the interception of sensitive communications that could contain authentication tokens or other valuable data.
Organizations utilizing IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience on Cloud Network Capture Add-On face significant risk from this vulnerability, particularly in environments where sensitive customer data is transmitted through network monitoring systems. The exposure creates opportunities for attackers to establish persistent surveillance capabilities while remaining undetected within the network infrastructure. Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patch deployment from IBM, along with network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additional protective measures include implementing strict certificate pinning policies, deploying network intrusion detection systems, and conducting comprehensive security assessments of all monitoring tools within the organization's infrastructure. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper certificate validation in cryptographic implementations and serves as a reminder of the potential consequences when security controls fail in critical network monitoring systems.