CVE-2018-18808 in JasperReports Server
Summary
by MITRE
The domain management component of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server Community Edition, TIBCO JasperReports Server for ActiveMatrix BPM, TIBCO Jaspersoft for AWS with Multi-Tenancy, and TIBCO Jaspersoft Reporting and Analytics for AWS contains a race-condition vulnerability that may allow any users with domain save privileges to gain superuser privileges. Affected releases are TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO JasperReports Server: versions up to and including 6.3.4; 6.4.0; 6.4.1; 6.4.2; 6.4.3; 7.1.0, TIBCO JasperReports Server Community Edition: versions up to and including 7.1.0, TIBCO JasperReports Server for ActiveMatrix BPM: versions up to and including 6.4.3, TIBCO Jaspersoft for AWS with Multi-Tenancy: versions up to and including 7.1.0, and TIBCO Jaspersoft Reporting and Analytics for AWS: versions up to and including 7.1.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/29/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-18808 represents a critical race condition flaw within the domain management component of TIBCO JasperReports Server across multiple product variants including the standard server, community edition, ActiveMatrix BPM variant, and AWS deployments. This race condition occurs during the domain management operations where the system fails to properly synchronize access to critical domain configuration resources. The flaw allows authenticated users who possess domain save privileges to exploit temporal inconsistencies in the system's privilege management logic, ultimately enabling them to escalate their access rights to superuser level permissions. The vulnerability affects a broad range of TIBCO JasperReports Server versions from 6.3.4 through 7.1.0, spanning both commercial and community editions as well as specialized AWS deployments, indicating a widespread impact across the product ecosystem.
The technical implementation of this race condition stems from improper synchronization mechanisms within the domain management workflow. When users with domain save privileges attempt to modify domain configurations, the system does not adequately enforce atomic operations or proper locking mechanisms during the privilege escalation process. This temporal gap allows malicious actors to manipulate the system state between the privilege check and the actual privilege assignment, effectively bypassing normal access controls. The vulnerability manifests as a timing-dependent flaw where the malicious user can exploit the window between when the system validates their permissions and when those permissions are actually applied or confirmed. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-362, which specifically addresses Race Conditions, and represents a classic example of how improper synchronization can lead to privilege escalation attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of the entire JasperReports Server environment. Once exploited, attackers can gain superuser privileges which typically grants them complete administrative control over the reporting server, including the ability to create new users, modify existing configurations, access all reports and dashboards, and potentially exfiltrate sensitive data processed through the system. The affected environment becomes vulnerable to data breaches, unauthorized system modifications, and potential lateral movement within the network infrastructure. Organizations relying on TIBCO JasperReports Server for business intelligence and reporting may face significant security implications as this vulnerability could be leveraged to gain access to sensitive business data, financial reports, and operational metrics that the system was designed to protect. The widespread nature of the affected versions means that organizations across various industries, from financial services to healthcare and government sectors, could be impacted by this vulnerability.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates released by TIBCO to address this specific race condition vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be enhanced to limit the number of users with domain save privileges, reducing the attack surface. Monitoring and logging should be strengthened to detect any suspicious privilege escalation attempts or unusual domain management activities. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments across all affected TIBCO JasperReports Server installations and implement principle of least privilege configurations where possible. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for Valid Accounts and T1484.001 for Domain Policy Modification highlights the need for comprehensive monitoring of account privilege changes and domain configuration modifications. Regular security audits should be performed to ensure that the patched systems maintain their integrity and that no unauthorized changes have occurred during the vulnerability window. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing additional authentication controls and multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts to further reduce the risk of exploitation.