CVE-2016-5997 in Tealeaf Customer Experience
Summary
by MITRE
The web portal in IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience before 8.7.1.8847 FP10, 8.8 before 8.8.0.9049 FP9, 9.0.0 and 9.0.1 before 9.0.1.1117 FP5, 9.0.1A before 9.0.1.5108_9.0.1A FP5, 9.0.2 before 9.0.2.1223 FP3, and 9.0.2A before 9.0.2.5224_9.0.2A FP3 does not apply password-quality rules to password changes, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access via a brute-force attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/26/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5997 affects IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience software across multiple version lines including 8.7.1, 8.8, 9.0.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.1A, 9.0.2, and 9.0.2A. This weakness represents a critical flaw in the authentication system where the web portal fails to enforce proper password quality controls during password modification processes. The vulnerability stems from the absence of password strength validation mechanisms that should typically be applied when users attempt to change their existing passwords. According to CWE-521, this constitutes a weak password reuse or modification vulnerability where the system allows users to set weak passwords even when changing existing credentials, effectively undermining the security of the authentication framework.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it creates an avenue for remote attackers to conduct brute-force attacks against user accounts. When password quality rules are not enforced during password changes, attackers can exploit this weakness to systematically guess or crack passwords using automated tools. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1110 which describes credential access through brute force or password guessing attacks. The affected versions of IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience fail to implement proper input validation and sanitization of password change requests, allowing attackers to bypass the expected security controls that should prevent weak password reuse.
The technical implementation flaw manifests in the web portal's authentication subsystem where password change functionality does not perform adequate validation checks. This includes failing to verify password complexity requirements, minimum length constraints, or prohibited character sequences that would normally be enforced during the password modification process. The vulnerability essentially creates a backdoor where users can modify their passwords to weak values without proper security enforcement, making the entire authentication system more susceptible to unauthorized access attempts.
Organizations using affected IBM Tealeaf Customer Experience versions should immediately apply the vendor-provided patches and fixes that address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation includes upgrading to the patched versions mentioned in the advisory, specifically FP10 for 8.7.1, FP9 for 8.8, and the respective FP5 and FP3 releases for the 9.0.x versions. Additionally, system administrators should implement additional controls such as account lockout mechanisms, rate limiting for authentication attempts, and enhanced monitoring of password change activities. Security teams should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication as a compensating control to reduce the risk of successful brute-force attacks exploiting this vulnerability.