CVE-2019-11648 in NetIQ
Summary
by MITRE
An information leakage exists in Micro Focus NetIQ Self Service Password Reset Software all versions prior to version 4.4. The vulnerability could be exploited to expose sensitive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/27/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-11648 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Micro Focus NetIQ Self Service Password Reset Software affecting all versions prior to 4.4. This software component is widely deployed in enterprise environments for managing user authentication and password recovery processes, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise organizational security postures. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper error handling mechanisms within the application's response processing logic. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious requests that trigger the application to reveal sensitive data through error messages, log files, or direct response content that should remain confidential. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be leveraged without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it allows unauthenticated attackers to gather intelligence about the system's internal structure, configuration details, and potentially user credentials or system identifiers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates poor security practices in data handling and response management that aligns with CWE-200, which specifically addresses information exposure through improper error handling. The flaw essentially allows attackers to perform reconnaissance activities by observing how the application behaves when processing malformed or unexpected inputs. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of information leakage attacks that can provide attackers with sufficient information to plan more sophisticated exploitation techniques. The attack vector typically involves sending crafted HTTP requests or API calls that cause the application to generate verbose error responses containing internal system details, database connection strings, file paths, or other sensitive operational information. The lack of proper sanitization and validation of user-supplied inputs creates an avenue for attackers to probe the application's response mechanisms and extract confidential data that should remain protected.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability significantly undermines the security posture of organizations relying on NetIQ Self Service Password Reset Software for their authentication infrastructure. The exposure of sensitive information can lead to cascading security issues including privilege escalation attempts, targeted attacks against specific system components, and enhanced reconnaissance capabilities for more advanced exploitation phases. Security teams may experience increased incident response overhead as they attempt to identify and remediate the vulnerability across multiple systems. The vulnerability also creates potential compliance issues for organizations subject to regulatory frameworks such as pci dss, hipaa, or soc 2, where unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information can result in significant penalties and reputational damage. Additionally, the information leaked through this vulnerability can be used to craft more effective social engineering attacks or to identify specific system weaknesses that attackers can exploit in subsequent phases of an attack lifecycle.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to version 4.4 or later of the NetIQ Self Service Password Reset Software, which contains the necessary patches to address the information disclosure vulnerability. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit exposure of the vulnerable application to untrusted networks and users. Implementing web application firewalls with rules designed to detect and block malicious input patterns can provide additional protection layers. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual request patterns or error response content that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the authentication infrastructure. The remediation process should also include comprehensive log review and analysis to determine if the vulnerability has been previously exploited. Organizations should also consider implementing automated vulnerability scanning tools that can identify and alert on similar information disclosure patterns in other applications within their environment, as this type of vulnerability often indicates broader architectural weaknesses in input validation and error handling practices that may exist elsewhere in the system.