CVE-2017-1651 in Rational Quality Manager
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Rational Quality Manager and IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 5.0 through 5.0.2 and 6.0 through 6.0.5 are 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: 133261.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1651 affects IBM Rational Quality Manager and IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management versions 5.0 through 5.0.2 and 6.0 through 6.0.5, representing a critical cross-site scripting flaw that compromises the security integrity of these enterprise quality management platforms. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the web user interface components of these applications, creating an exploitable entry point for malicious actors to inject malicious JavaScript code into the application's response. The flaw specifically manifests when user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages, allowing attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through crafted input vectors that bypass security controls implemented by the system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the injection of malicious JavaScript code into web forms, parameters, or other user-controllable input fields within the Rational Quality Manager interface. When legitimate users interact with the application and view pages containing the injected malicious code, the JavaScript executes within the context of their authenticated session, potentially enabling attackers to access sensitive information, manipulate application functionality, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. This cross-site scripting vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that has been consistently identified as one of the top ten web application security risks by OWASP. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the user's browser and the application, making it particularly dangerous as the malicious code executes with the privileges of the authenticated user.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it creates opportunities for credential theft and session hijacking within trusted environments. When attackers successfully exploit this vulnerability, they can potentially access session tokens, authentication cookies, or other sensitive data that would normally be protected within the application's security boundaries. This poses significant risks to organizations using these quality management tools, as the compromised systems may contain sensitive project data, test results, and configuration information that could be accessed by unauthorized parties. The vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where these tools are used for managing critical software development processes, making the potential impact on business operations and intellectual property substantial. Organizations may face regulatory compliance issues and potential data breaches when such vulnerabilities exist within their development infrastructure.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability, beginning with immediate patching of affected versions to the latest available releases from IBM. The recommended mitigation strategy includes implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's web interface to prevent malicious code injection, alongside comprehensive security monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing content security policies to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts, and establish network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Scripting demonstrates the threat actor's ability to leverage this weakness for persistent access, making proactive remediation essential for maintaining security posture. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other enterprise applications, as the underlying causes of this XSS vulnerability are commonly found in web applications that do not properly enforce security controls at all input and output points within their interfaces.