CVE-2018-1671 in Curam Social Program Management
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Curam Social Program Management 7.0.3 is vulnerable to HTML injection. A remote attacker could inject malicious HTML code, which when viewed, would be executed in the victim's Web browser within the security context of the hosting site. IBM X-force ID: 144951.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2023
IBM Curam Social Program Management version 7.0.3 contains a critical html injection vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute malicious code within victim browsers. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and represents a significant security risk to organizations utilizing this social program management platform. The flaw occurs when user-supplied input containing html code is not properly sanitized or validated before being rendered in web pages, creating an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of the victim's browser session.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the application's web interface processing components. When legitimate users submit content or interact with the platform, the system fails to adequately sanitize or escape html characters in the submitted data before displaying it to other users. This allows an attacker to craft malicious input containing html tags and javascript code that gets executed when other users view the compromised content. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the security context of the hosting site, meaning any privileges or access controls that apply to the legitimate users are also available to the malicious code.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates multiple attack vectors that can lead to severe consequences for affected organizations. Attackers can exploit this weakness to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, redirect victims to malicious sites, or even install malware on compromised systems. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the network or system to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly attractive for widespread exploitation. Organizations using IBM Curam Social Program Management may face data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive social program information, and potential compliance violations that could result in significant financial and reputational damage.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. The primary mitigation strategy involves implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application to prevent html injection attacks. This includes applying proper sanitization techniques to all user-supplied content before rendering it in web pages and implementing Content Security Policies to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts. Additionally, organizations should deploy web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious html injection attempts, conduct regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities, and ensure all systems are updated with the latest security patches from IBM. The remediation process should also include comprehensive staff training on secure coding practices and vulnerability awareness to prevent future incidents. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining robust input validation mechanisms in web applications and highlights the necessity of following security best practices such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks.