CVE-2018-1892 in Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management 6.0 through 6.0.6.1 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 152156.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1892 affects IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management versions 6.0 through 6.0.6.1, representing a critical cross-site scripting weakness that compromises web application security. This flaw exists within the web user interface component of the collaboration platform, which is designed to facilitate software development lifecycle management processes across distributed teams. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within the web interface. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious javascript code through various input fields or parameters that are subsequently executed in the context of other users' browsers. The specific nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as weaknesses that occur when an application incorporates untrusted data into web pages without proper validation or escaping mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple functional disruption to encompass serious security implications for organizations utilizing the affected IBM Rational CLM platform. When exploited, the XSS vulnerability enables attackers to execute arbitrary javascript code within the victim's browser session, potentially allowing for session hijacking, credential theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive development data. The attack vector leverages the trusted session context, meaning that authenticated users who view the malicious content would unknowingly execute code that could capture their session tokens, login credentials, or other sensitive information. This particular vulnerability is especially concerning in development environments where the Rational CLM platform manages critical software development artifacts, source code repositories, and project management data that organizations depend upon for their software delivery processes. The IBM X-Force identifier 152156 confirms the severity and tracking of this vulnerability within the security community.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate remediation measures to protect their development environments and collaborative workflows. The primary mitigation strategy involves applying the official IBM security patches and updates released for versions 6.0 through 6.0.6.1 of Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional defense-in-depth measures. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security patches for enterprise collaboration platforms, as these systems often contain sensitive information about software development processes and intellectual property. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their entire software development lifecycle infrastructure to identify similar weaknesses in other tools and platforms that may be part of their development ecosystem. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving initial access through web application attacks and privilege escalation via session hijacking, highlighting the need for comprehensive security controls across all development platform components.