CVE-2018-1970 in Security Identity Manager
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Security Identity Manager 7.0.1 is vulnerable to a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 153751.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1970 represents a critical XML External Entity Injection flaw within IBM Security Identity Manager version 7.0.1. This weakness specifically manifests during the processing of XML data inputs, creating an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate the system's behavior through crafted XML payloads. The vulnerability falls under the broader category of insecure XML processing, which has been consistently documented as a significant security risk in enterprise applications. The flaw enables attackers to exploit the application's XML parser configuration, potentially leading to unauthorized data access and system resource exhaustion.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize XML input parameters before processing them through the underlying XML parser. When the system encounters external entity references within XML documents, it fails to restrict access to local resources or external servers, allowing attackers to craft malicious XML payloads that can reference external entities. This configuration issue directly aligns with CWE-611, which categorizes insecure XML processing as a weakness that enables attackers to manipulate XML parsers into accessing unauthorized resources. The vulnerability exists because the XML parser operates with default settings that do not adequately restrict external entity resolution, creating a pathway for information disclosure and denial of service attacks.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this XXE vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass potential system resource exhaustion and unauthorized access to sensitive data. Remote attackers can leverage this flaw to access internal system files, network resources, and potentially escalate their privileges within the security identity management environment. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that IBM Security Identity Manager serves as a critical component in enterprise identity and access management systems, where compromise could lead to widespread unauthorized access to user credentials and privileged accounts. The vulnerability also poses a significant risk for denial of service scenarios, as attackers can consume system memory resources through recursive entity references or by accessing large external resources.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with tactics documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique of "Server-side Request Forgery" and "Resource Exhaustion" within the context of enterprise security systems. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability represents a classic example of how insufficient input validation can lead to severe consequences in identity management solutions. The IBM X-Force ID 153751 associated with this vulnerability indicates the severity level and provides additional context for security teams to understand the specific attack vectors and potential impact. Organizations utilizing IBM Security Identity Manager 7.0.1 should prioritize immediate remediation through patch updates or configuration changes that disable external entity resolution in XML parsers.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-1970 should focus on implementing proper XML parser configurations that disable external entity resolution and restrict access to local resources. Organizations should consider applying the vendor-provided security patches or implementing application-level controls that validate and sanitize all XML input before processing. Configuration changes should include setting appropriate parser properties to prevent loading external DTDs and restricting network access to prevent attackers from referencing external resources. Additionally, network-level controls such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help monitor for suspicious XML traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar issues in other enterprise applications that may be susceptible to the same class of vulnerabilities. The remediation process should also include comprehensive testing to ensure that the applied fixes do not negatively impact legitimate application functionality while effectively addressing the XXE injection vulnerability.