CVE-2017-1738 in Rational Quality Manager
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Rational Quality Manager 5.0 through 5.0.2 and 6.0 through 6.0.5 contains an undisclosed vulnerability that would allow an authenticated user to obtain elevated privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 134919.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1738 affects IBM Rational Quality Manager versions 5.0 through 5.0.2 and 6.0 through 6.0.5, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw that undermines the security posture of this enterprise test management solution. This issue resides within the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the platform, specifically allowing authenticated users to exploit a weakness that enables them to gain elevated privileges beyond their normal access levels. The vulnerability's classification as undisclosed in the initial description indicates that IBM did not publicly disclose the specific technical details at the time of discovery, which is common practice for zero-day vulnerabilities prior to patch release.
The technical flaw manifests through improper access control implementation within the Rational Quality Manager application, where the system fails to adequately validate user permissions during privilege elevation operations. This weakness typically stems from inadequate input validation, insufficient session management, or flawed role-based access control mechanisms that allow authenticated users to manipulate system parameters or exploit API endpoints that should be restricted to administrators or privileged users. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, potentially affecting user accounts, test data, and system configurations that require elevated permissions for modification or access. According to CWE standards, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and CWE-276, concerning insecure file and directory permissions, as the flaw enables unauthorized privilege escalation through legitimate authenticated sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations utilizing IBM Rational Quality Manager, as it creates a potential attack vector where malicious insiders or compromised legitimate users could escalate their privileges to administrative levels. This escalation capability allows attackers to modify test cases, manipulate test results, access sensitive project data, and potentially compromise the integrity of the entire test management environment. The affected versions span multiple major releases, indicating a widespread issue that could impact numerous enterprise environments where quality management processes are critical to software development and deployment. Organizations relying on these versions face risks of unauthorized data manipulation, test result tampering, and potential system compromise that could affect software quality assurance processes and ultimately impact product security.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch application as provided by IBM, which would address the underlying access control implementation flaws. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to Rational Quality Manager systems, enforce strict monitoring of privileged account activities, and conduct regular security audits of user access rights and permissions. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the patched environment to ensure that legitimate user access continues to function properly while the privilege escalation vulnerability is eliminated. Security teams should also review and tighten access control policies for the Rational Quality Manager environment, implementing principle of least privilege concepts and regular permission reviews. This vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and the necessity of conducting regular security assessments of enterprise applications to identify and remediate access control weaknesses that could enable privilege escalation attacks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the T1068 - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation tactic, where adversaries leverage application-level vulnerabilities to gain elevated system access. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as privileged access management solutions and enhanced logging of administrative activities to detect potential exploitation attempts.