CVE-2017-8989 in IceWall SSO Dfw
Summary
by MITRE
A security vulnerability in HPE IceWall SSO Dfw 10.0 and 11.0 on RHEL, HP-UX, and Windows could be exploited remotely to allow URL Redirection.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/13/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8989 affects HPE IceWall Single Sign-On Dfw versions 10.0 and 11.0 across multiple operating systems including Red Hat Enterprise Linux HP-UX and Windows platforms. This security flaw represents a significant concern for organizations relying on HPE IceWall for identity management and access control. The vulnerability manifests as a remote URL redirection issue that could potentially be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate user navigation and potentially execute unauthorized actions. The affected systems operate within enterprise environments where secure authentication and authorization mechanisms are critical for protecting sensitive data and maintaining operational integrity.
This security weakness stems from improper validation of URL parameters within the HPE IceWall SSO Dfw implementation. The technical flaw allows an attacker to craft malicious URLs that could redirect users to unauthorized destinations without proper authentication or authorization checks. The vulnerability exists in the way the application processes and validates user-provided URL parameters during the single sign-on process. When users are redirected through the SSO mechanism the application fails to adequately sanitize or validate the destination URLs, creating an opening for attackers to inject malicious redirection targets. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of insecure direct object references and can be classified as CWE-601 URL Redirection to Untrusted Site. The flaw specifically impacts the authentication flow where legitimate users might be unknowingly redirected to phishing sites or malicious endpoints.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-8989 extends beyond simple redirection attacks and represents a potential gateway for more sophisticated cyber operations. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to conduct phishing campaigns by redirecting users to credential harvesting sites or to deliver malware through malicious downloads. The remote exploitation capability means that threat actors do not require physical access or local network presence to initiate attacks, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in perimeter defense scenarios. Organizations using HPE IceWall for SSO implementations face risks including unauthorized access to corporate resources, data exfiltration through credential theft, and potential compromise of the entire authentication infrastructure. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to perform social engineering operations by manipulating user expectations through deceptive redirects. From an ATT&CK framework perspective this vulnerability maps to techniques such as T1566 Phishing and T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol HTTP, as attackers can leverage the redirection mechanism to establish malicious communication channels.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-8989 should prioritize immediate patching of affected HPE IceWall Dfw installations to the latest available versions that contain security fixes. Organizations must implement network-level controls to monitor and restrict outbound URL redirection traffic from the SSO system, particularly during authentication flows. The implementation of strict URL validation mechanisms within the application layer can help prevent malicious redirection attempts by enforcing whitelisting of approved destinations. Security teams should also conduct thorough network monitoring to detect anomalous redirection patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, user education programs should be enhanced to help personnel recognize potential phishing attempts that might exploit this vulnerability. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patched systems to ensure that the fix does not introduce compatibility issues with existing authentication workflows. Organizations should also review their overall security posture and implement additional layers of protection including multi-factor authentication and privileged access management controls to reduce the overall risk exposure.