CVE-2017-1191 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
An undisclosed vulnerability in CLM applications (including IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0) with potential for failure to restrict URL Access. IBM X-Force ID: 123661.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/28/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1191 represents a critical access control weakness within IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management applications across versions 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0. This issue stems from insufficient URL access restrictions that could allow unauthorized users to bypass authentication mechanisms and gain access to restricted resources within the application environment. The vulnerability specifically affects collaborative lifecycle management platforms that handle sensitive project data, requirements, and configuration information across software development and product lifecycle processes. Organizations utilizing these applications face significant risks when this vulnerability remains unaddressed, as it could enable malicious actors to access confidential project artifacts, modify critical system components, or disrupt ongoing development workflows.
The technical implementation flaw manifests through inadequate validation of URL parameters and access controls within the application's web interface. When users navigate through the application's web-based interface, the system fails to properly enforce authorization checks on specific URL endpoints that should require authenticated access. This weakness allows attackers to construct malicious URLs that bypass normal access controls and directly access restricted functionality. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the application layer where users expect robust authentication and authorization mechanisms to protect sensitive data. Attackers can exploit this by analyzing application behavior, identifying protected endpoints, and crafting requests that circumvent standard access controls, potentially gaining access to administrative functions or sensitive project data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable a range of malicious activities including data exfiltration, system manipulation, and disruption of collaborative processes. Organizations using IBM Rational CLM may experience significant business disruption when attackers exploit this vulnerability, particularly in environments where sensitive intellectual property, regulatory compliance data, or proprietary development information is stored. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without requiring prior authentication, making it particularly dangerous in cloud-based deployments or environments where the application is exposed to external networks. Security incidents resulting from this vulnerability could lead to compliance violations, regulatory penalties, and substantial financial losses due to data breaches or operational disruptions.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates released by IBM to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be enhanced to limit exposure of the affected applications to untrusted networks. The implementation of web application firewalls and enhanced monitoring of access patterns can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their CLM environments to identify any other potential access control weaknesses. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that should be enforced in all enterprise applications. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers could potentially use this weakness to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems. Regular security testing and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to ensure that similar access control weaknesses do not exist in other components of the collaborative lifecycle management infrastructure.