CVE-2018-1734 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 6.0 through 6.0.6.1 discloses sensitive information in error messages that may be used by a malicious user to orchestrate further attacks. IBM X-Force ID: 147838.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2023
IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management version 6.0 through 6.0.6.1 contains a vulnerability that exposes sensitive information within error messages, creating potential attack vectors for malicious actors seeking to escalate their privileges or conduct further reconnaissance. This vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure, specifically manifesting through improper error handling mechanisms that reveal internal system details to unauthorized users. The flaw allows attackers to extract potentially sensitive data such as system paths, database configurations, or internal error codes that could aid in crafting more sophisticated attacks against the target environment. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects a collaborative platform used for managing software development lifecycles, where access to such information could provide attackers with insights into the underlying infrastructure and potentially lead to privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network. This issue represents a classic example of insecure error handling practices that violate security best practices and can be categorized under CWE-209, which specifically addresses "Information Exposure Through an Error Message." The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it enables attackers to gather intelligence about the system's internal workings, potentially revealing database connection strings, file paths, or other system-specific details that could be leveraged in subsequent exploitation phases. From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability creates a significant risk for organizations using IBM Rational CLM as it provides attackers with the initial foothold needed to plan more targeted attacks against the platform and potentially the broader network infrastructure. The IBM X-Force ID 147838 further emphasizes the recognized severity of this issue within the security community, indicating that it has been properly cataloged and analyzed by IBM's security team. The attack surface for this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1212, which involves exploiting information disclosures to gather system information and plan further attacks. Organizations utilizing this software version should be particularly vigilant as the error messages could inadvertently expose sensitive configurations that would normally be protected within a properly secured environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to sanitize error messages before displaying them to end users. When system errors occur during normal operation, the application's error handling mechanism does not properly filter or obscure sensitive information that might be included in the error output. This oversight creates a situation where an attacker who can trigger specific error conditions can observe detailed error messages containing system-specific information that should remain confidential. The vulnerability manifests when the application encounters exceptions or failures during processing, particularly in areas involving database connectivity, file system access, or authentication mechanisms. Attackers can potentially exploit this by crafting specific inputs or actions that cause the system to generate these error conditions, thereby harvesting information that could be used to craft more effective attacks. The disclosure of sensitive information through error messages represents a fundamental security flaw that violates the principle of least privilege and information hiding, both of which are core tenets of secure system design. This vulnerability can be exploited across various attack vectors including web-based interfaces, API endpoints, or direct system interactions, making it particularly dangerous in multi-layered attack scenarios where initial reconnaissance can quickly escalate into more serious compromise attempts.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability including comprehensive error handling improvements that ensure all error messages are sanitized before display to users. The most effective approach involves implementing centralized error handling mechanisms that catch all exceptions and present generic error messages to end users while logging detailed technical information securely for system administrators. Configuration changes should include disabling detailed error messages in production environments and ensuring that all error outputs are filtered to remove system paths, database connection details, or other potentially sensitive information. Security teams should also implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual error message patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts or reconnaissance activities. Additional mitigations include implementing proper input validation to prevent conditions that trigger the vulnerable error paths, regularly updating to the latest available patches from IBM, and conducting security assessments to identify other potential information disclosure vulnerabilities within the system. The remediation process should also include security awareness training for developers to ensure proper error handling practices are implemented throughout the application lifecycle, preventing similar issues from occurring in future versions or custom modifications. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls or similar protective measures that can filter error messages at the network level, providing an additional layer of defense against information disclosure attacks. These combined approaches address both the immediate vulnerability and help prevent similar issues from arising in the broader system architecture.