CVE-2018-1939 in Cloud Private
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Cloud Private 3.1.1 could allow a remote attacker to conduct phishing attacks, using an open redirect attack. By persuading a victim to visit a specially-crafted Web site, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to spoof the URL displayed to redirect a user to a malicious Web site that would appear to be trusted. This could allow the attacker to obtain highly sensitive information or conduct further attacks against the victim. IBM X-Force ID: 153319.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/26/2023
This vulnerability resides in IBM Cloud Private version 3.1.1 and represents a critical open redirect flaw that enables remote attackers to execute sophisticated phishing campaigns. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the web application's redirect functionality, allowing malicious actors to craft URLs that appear legitimate while actually directing users to attacker-controlled domains. The flaw operates by manipulating redirect parameters in web requests, exploiting the trust relationship between the application and its users to deceive victims into believing they are navigating to authorized destinations when in reality they are being redirected to malicious sites designed to capture credentials or sensitive data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-601 Open Redirect vulnerability classification, where the application fails to properly validate redirect targets, enabling attackers to redirect users to arbitrary URLs. This weakness exists at the application layer and specifically affects the web interface components of IBM Cloud Private, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where privileged access to cloud infrastructure is common. The attack vector requires minimal technical expertise from threat actors, as they only need to construct malicious URLs that leverage the vulnerable redirect mechanism, making this vulnerability highly exploitable in real-world scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple phishing attacks, as successful exploitation can lead to complete compromise of user sessions and access to sensitive enterprise data. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to conduct credential harvesting campaigns, where users are redirected to fake login pages designed to capture authentication credentials. Additionally, the vulnerability can be combined with other attack vectors such as cross-site scripting or session hijacking to create more sophisticated multi-stage attacks. The implications are particularly severe in cloud environments where IBM Cloud Private serves as a management interface for critical infrastructure, as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to cloud resources and potential lateral movement within the network.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation controls that sanitize redirect parameters and enforce strict validation of target URLs against known good domains. Network-level controls such as web application firewalls and URL filtering solutions can provide additional layers of protection by blocking suspicious redirect patterns. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and proper redirect validation mechanisms within the application code can prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar redirect vulnerabilities across the entire application stack. Organizations should also consider implementing user education programs to raise awareness about phishing attempts and the importance of verifying URLs before entering sensitive information, as the human factor remains a critical component in defending against these types of social engineering attacks that leverage legitimate application functionality for malicious purposes.