CVE-2017-1254 in Security Guardium
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Security Guardium 10.0 is vulnerable XML External Entity Injection (XXE) error when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose highly sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 124634.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/30/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1254 represents a critical XML External Entity Injection flaw in IBM Security Guardium version 10.0, classified under CWE-611 as an improper restriction of XML external entity references. This vulnerability exists within the application's XML processing capabilities, where the system fails to properly validate and sanitize external entity declarations in XML data inputs. The flaw allows an attacker to manipulate XML parsers by introducing external entity references that can trigger unauthorized resource access or cause denial of service conditions.
The technical implementation of this XXE vulnerability occurs when the Guardium system processes XML data without adequate input sanitization, enabling malicious actors to craft specially formatted XML payloads that reference external resources. When the XML parser encounters these external entity declarations, it attempts to resolve them, potentially exposing internal system information, file system contents, or network resources that should remain protected. The vulnerability specifically affects the application's ability to handle XML data streams, making it particularly dangerous in environments where Guardium processes configuration files, audit logs, or other XML-encoded data from various sources.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security risks for organizations relying on IBM Security Guardium for database activity monitoring and security governance. An attacker exploiting this XXE vulnerability could potentially extract sensitive database credentials, access internal network resources, or cause system resource exhaustion through memory consumption attacks. The remote exploitation capability means that threat actors do not require local system access or network proximity to launch attacks, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations with distributed deployments or cloud-based security infrastructures. The vulnerability could enable data exfiltration, privilege escalation, or disruption of security monitoring operations that Guardium is designed to protect.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches, disabling external entity resolution in XML parsers, and implementing network segmentation controls to limit access to Guardium systems. The remediation strategy should include validating all XML inputs through proper sanitization processes, configuring XML parsers to reject external entity declarations, and monitoring for suspicious XML data patterns. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for XML external entity injection and T1071.004 for application layer protocols, highlighting the need for defensive measures at both network and application layers. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other systems potentially affected by similar XXE vulnerabilities in their security infrastructure and implement proper input validation controls to prevent similar issues in future deployments.