CVE-2017-1523 in InfoSphere Master Data Management
Summary
by MITRE
IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management - Collaborative Edition 11.5 could allow an unauthorized user to download reports without authentication. IBM X-Force ID: 129892.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1523 affects IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management - Collaborative Edition version 11.5, representing a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the security posture of enterprise master data management systems. This issue stems from insufficient access controls within the reporting functionality, allowing malicious actors to exploit a design weakness that permits unauthorized data extraction without proper authentication credentials. The vulnerability specifically impacts the collaborative edition of IBM's master data management platform, which serves as a central repository for critical business data across organizations. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain access to sensitive reports and data that should only be available to authorized personnel within the organization's information technology infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a failure in the authentication mechanism that governs report access within the IBM InfoSphere platform. When users attempt to download reports through the collaborative edition interface, the system does not properly validate user credentials or session tokens before granting access to report generation and download capabilities. This authentication bypass occurs at the application layer where the system fails to enforce proper access controls, allowing any user with network access to the application to retrieve potentially sensitive business intelligence reports. The flaw manifests as a lack of input validation and access control checks that should normally occur before report generation requests are processed, creating an opening for privilege escalation and unauthorized data access. According to CWE classification, this represents a weakness categorized under CWE-285: "Improper Authorization," which specifically addresses situations where the system does not properly enforce access controls for protected resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, potentially compromising the integrity of enterprise master data management processes and violating data governance policies. Organizations utilizing this version of IBM InfoSphere risk having their sensitive business data, including customer information, financial records, and operational metrics, accessed by unauthorized individuals who may be competitors, malicious hackers, or internal threat actors. The unauthorized download capability could enable attackers to extract comprehensive datasets that might reveal business strategies, customer demographics, or operational details that could be monetized or used for competitive advantage. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprises that rely on master data management for regulatory compliance, as unauthorized data access could lead to violations of data protection regulations such as gdpr, hipaa, or other industry-specific compliance requirements. The security implications extend to potential data exfiltration campaigns that could be orchestrated by threat actors seeking to maximize the value of their unauthorized access to enterprise data assets.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of several security controls and system hardening measures. Organizations should apply the official IBM security patches and updates released to address this specific authentication bypass flaw, ensuring that all instances of the collaborative edition are updated to versions that properly enforce access controls for report generation. Network segmentation should be implemented to limit access to the InfoSphere application to authorized personnel only, while additional monitoring should be deployed to detect unusual report download patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Access control policies should be reviewed and strengthened to ensure that proper authentication and authorization mechanisms are enforced for all report generation activities. System administrators should implement role-based access controls that limit report download capabilities to specific user groups based on their legitimate business needs. From an att&ck framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as credential access and data exfiltration, making it critical for organizations to implement proper network monitoring and endpoint detection capabilities to identify potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security testing to verify that the authentication bypass has been fully resolved and that no other similar vulnerabilities exist within the application's codebase.