CVE-2018-7673 in Identity Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The NetIQ Identity Manager communication channel, in versions prior to 4.7, is susceptible to a DoS attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-7673 affects the NetIQ Identity Manager communication channel, specifically impacting versions prior to 4.7. This issue represents a significant security weakness that can be exploited to disrupt the availability of critical identity management services within enterprise environments. The NetIQ Identity Manager serves as a foundational component for identity governance and access management, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations relying on robust identity infrastructure. The affected communication channel facilitates essential operations including user authentication, authorization, and identity synchronization processes that are fundamental to maintaining secure access controls across enterprise networks.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input validation and error handling mechanisms within the communication protocols used by the NetIQ Identity Manager. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending malformed or specially crafted requests to the communication channel, which causes the system to enter an unstable state or crash entirely. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and leverages the inherent design limitations in how the system processes incoming communication requests. The lack of proper sanitization and validation of incoming data streams creates an avenue for malicious actors to inject disruptive payloads that trigger system failures. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be targeted by anyone with network access to the affected system.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-7673 extends far beyond simple service disruption, potentially compromising the entire identity management infrastructure of affected organizations. When the communication channel becomes unavailable due to denial of service, legitimate users are unable to authenticate or access systems that depend on the identity manager for authorization decisions. This can cascade into broader operational failures affecting multiple applications and services that rely on the identity manager for user provisioning and access control. Organizations may experience significant downtime during exploitation, leading to productivity losses and potential compliance violations. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to conduct reconnaissance activities or prepare for more sophisticated attacks, as the system instability can mask other malicious activities or provide additional attack vectors.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to NetIQ Identity Manager version 4.7 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the communication channel vulnerabilities. System administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the affected communication channels to only authorized network segments. Monitoring and logging should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in communication requests that might indicate exploitation attempts. The implementation of intrusion detection systems and security information event management solutions can help identify and respond to potential exploitation activities. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any other systems that might be similarly affected by related communication channel weaknesses, as this vulnerability represents a broader class of issues affecting identity management systems. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which addresses unspecified errors in resource management, and maps to attack techniques in the ATT&CK framework related to denial of service and service disruption within identity and access management domains.