CVE-2017-1449 in Emptoris Sourcing
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Emptoris Sourcing 9.5 - 10.1.3 could allow a remote attacker to conduct phishing attacks, using an open redirect attack. By persuading a victim to visit a specially-crafted Web site, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to spoof the URL displayed to redirect a user to a malicious Web site that would appear to be trusted. This could allow the attacker to obtain highly sensitive information or conduct further attacks against the victim. IBM X-Force ID: 128174.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2021
This vulnerability resides in IBM Emptoris Sourcing versions 9.5 through 10.1.3, representing a critical open redirect flaw that enables remote attackers to execute sophisticated phishing campaigns. The vulnerability operates through a carefully crafted web request that manipulates the application's redirect functionality, allowing attackers to craft deceptive URLs that appear legitimate to users. When victims click on these malicious links, they are seamlessly redirected to attacker-controlled domains while the browser interface continues to display the trusted source domain, creating an effective social engineering vector. The flaw specifically exploits the application's insufficient validation of redirect parameters, allowing arbitrary URLs to be processed without proper verification of their legitimacy.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization within the application's URL redirection mechanisms. Attackers can manipulate redirect parameters by injecting malicious URLs into the application's redirect functionality, bypassing standard security controls that should validate destination URLs against a whitelist of approved domains. This weakness aligns with CWE-601, which categorizes open redirect vulnerabilities as a serious security concern where applications redirect users to untrusted locations without proper validation. The flaw essentially creates a trust exploitation opportunity where users' browsers display the legitimate source URL while actually navigating to malicious destinations, making it particularly effective for credential harvesting and malware distribution attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple phishing attempts, as it provides attackers with a sophisticated means to conduct extended attack campaigns against targeted organizations. Once victims are redirected to malicious sites, attackers can employ various techniques including credential theft through fake login pages, malware delivery through drive-by downloads, and further reconnaissance activities. The vulnerability's remote nature means attackers can exploit it from anywhere in the world without requiring physical access to the target network, while the open redirect mechanism allows for mass deployment across multiple users simultaneously. This capability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers spearphishing attacks, and T1189, which involves drive-by compromises, making it a particularly dangerous vulnerability for enterprise environments where procurement and sourcing applications handle sensitive business data.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability, beginning with immediate patching of affected IBM Emptoris Sourcing versions to the latest available releases. Network-level controls should include implementing strict URL validation at perimeter devices and web application firewalls to block suspicious redirect parameters. Application-level mitigations must enforce strict input validation and implement proper URL whitelisting for all redirect functions, ensuring that only predetermined trusted domains can be used in redirection operations. Security monitoring should include detection of anomalous redirect patterns and unusual traffic to external domains, while user education programs should emphasize the importance of verifying URL addresses even when they appear to come from trusted sources. Additional protective measures include implementing content security policies that restrict redirect behavior and conducting regular security assessments of web applications to identify similar vulnerabilities in other systems. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating all user-supplied input and implementing proper access controls in web applications to prevent attackers from manipulating application behavior for malicious purposes.