CVE-2017-1104 in Quality Manager
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Quality Manager (RQM) 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 120666.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2020
IBM Quality Manager versions 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 contain a cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a critical security flaw in the web user interface implementation. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and enables malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into the application's web interface. The flaw occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it within web pages, creating an environment where attacker-controlled scripts can execute in the context of authenticated users' sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows attackers to manipulate the intended functionality of the application by executing malicious code within the victim's browser. When authenticated users interact with the vulnerable RQM application, the injected JavaScript can capture session cookies, credentials, or other sensitive information transmitted within the trusted session. This enables attackers to potentially hijack user sessions and gain unauthorized access to quality management data, test cases, and related administrative functions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the trusted session context, making it difficult to detect and mitigate.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 for Establishing Persistence and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers can leverage the XSS flaw to create persistent access or harvest credentials from authenticated users. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of IBM Quality Manager, indicating a widespread issue that would require patching across different product iterations. Organizations using these versions face significant risk of credential theft and unauthorized data access, as the injected scripts can perform actions with the privileges of the authenticated user, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves applying the official IBM security patches released for each affected version to address the XSS vulnerability. Organizations should also implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent future occurrences of similar flaws. Additionally, deploying web application firewalls and implementing content security policies can provide additional layers of protection against XSS attacks. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues in other applications within the organization's infrastructure.