CVE-2018-1434 in SAN Volume Controller
Summary
by MITRE
IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Storwize, IBM Spectrum Virtualize and IBM FlashSystem products ( 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.6.1, 7.7, 7.7.1, 7.8, 7.8.1, 8.1, and 8.1.1) are vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could allow an attacker to execute malicious and unauthorized actions transmitted from a user that the website trusts. IBM X-Force ID: 139474.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/14/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1434 affects a suite of enterprise storage systems including IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Storwize, IBM Spectrum Virtualize, and IBM FlashSystem across multiple software versions. This cross-site request forgery vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that undermines the authentication and authorization mechanisms of these storage platforms. The affected products operate within enterprise environments where storage systems handle sensitive data and critical infrastructure operations, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous. The vulnerability exists in the web-based management interfaces of these storage systems, which are commonly accessed through standard web browsers for configuration and monitoring purposes.
The technical flaw stems from the absence of proper cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms within the web interfaces of these storage systems. When users authenticate to the management interface, the system should validate that requests originate from legitimate sources and that users have proper authorization to perform specific actions. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious requests that can be executed by authenticated users without their knowledge or consent. This occurs because the system fails to implement anti-forgery tokens or other validation mechanisms that would ensure requests are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user. The flaw is particularly concerning as it affects multiple versions of these products, indicating a widespread issue within the product lineage.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on these storage systems. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could perform unauthorized operations such as modifying storage configurations, creating or deleting volumes, changing user permissions, or accessing sensitive data through the storage system. The attack typically requires the victim user to be authenticated to the system and to visit a malicious website or click on a compromised link while maintaining an active session. This makes the attack vector particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may have elevated privileges and where storage systems are critical to business operations. The vulnerability could lead to data integrity issues, unauthorized access to storage resources, and potential disruption of critical storage services that organizations depend upon.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of mitigation to address this vulnerability effectively. The primary recommendation involves applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates that address the cross-site request forgery implementation flaws in the affected products. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of the storage management interfaces to untrusted networks. Implementing additional authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication can provide defense-in-depth against exploitation attempts. Monitoring and logging of management interface activities should be enhanced to detect suspicious activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues, and it maps to ATT&CK technique T1212 which covers exploitation of remote services. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious requests and ensure that only legitimate traffic reaches the vulnerable management interfaces. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of implemented mitigations and to identify any additional security gaps in the storage infrastructure.