CVE-2018-1885 in Business Automation Workflow
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Business Automation Workflow 18.0.0.0, 18.0.0.1, and 18.0.0.2 could allow an unauthenticated attacker to obtain sensitve information using a specially cracted HTTP request. IBM X-Force ID: 152020.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/27/2023
This vulnerability resides within IBM Business Automation Workflow versions 18.0.0.0, 18.0.0.1, and 18.0.0.2, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that affects the workflow automation platform's HTTP request handling mechanisms. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit specially crafted HTTP requests to extract sensitive information from the affected systems, potentially compromising the confidentiality of business processes and related data. This represents a significant security weakness in the platform's access control and input validation processes.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of HTTP requests within the workflow engine's processing pipeline. When the system receives malformed or specially constructed HTTP requests, it fails to properly sanitize the input before processing, leading to information leakage through the response mechanism. This flaw typically manifests when the application does not adequately validate request parameters, headers, or body content, allowing attackers to manipulate the request structure to trigger unintended data exposure. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-200, which specifically addresses "Information Exposure" and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege in security architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data leakage, as it enables attackers to potentially gain insights into business process configurations, workflow definitions, and other sensitive operational details. An attacker could exploit this weakness to understand the underlying business logic, identify process dependencies, and potentially discover additional attack vectors within the automation platform. This information disclosure could facilitate more sophisticated attacks, including privilege escalation attempts or targeted exploitation of other vulnerabilities within the same platform. The vulnerability's presence in multiple patch levels of the 18.0.0.x series indicates a fundamental flaw in the platform's request handling architecture that requires immediate remediation.
Organizations utilizing IBM Business Automation Workflow should prioritize immediate patching of affected versions to mitigate this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation strategy involves applying the latest security patches provided by IBM, which typically include enhanced input validation and improved HTTP request processing mechanisms. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect anomalous HTTP request patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004, which covers "Application Layer Protocol: DNS," as attackers may use information disclosure to map network services and identify potential attack targets. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify any potential data that may have been compromised through this vulnerability, particularly focusing on sensitive workflow configurations and business process information that could be extracted through this attack vector.