CVE-2019-4167 in StoredIQ
Summary
by MITRE
IBM StoredIQ 7.6.0 is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could allow an attacker to execute malicious and unauthorized actions transmitted from a user that the website trusts. IBM X-Force ID: 158700.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2023
IBM StoredIQ version 7.6.0 contains a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that enables attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate and verify the origin of HTTP requests, allowing malicious actors to craft crafted requests that exploit the trust relationship between the user's browser and the application server. The vulnerability exists within the web interface's handling of state-changing operations without implementing proper anti-forgery token mechanisms or origin validation checks.
The technical flaw manifests when users access the StoredIQ web console and perform administrative actions such as creating or modifying user accounts, configuring system settings, or managing data policies. Attackers can exploit this by tricking victims into clicking malicious links or visiting compromised websites that contain embedded requests targeting the vulnerable StoredIQ instance. The attack typically involves creating a malicious HTML page that automatically submits requests to the StoredIQ API endpoints, leveraging the victim's existing authentication session to execute unauthorized operations without their knowledge or consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows attackers to gain persistent access to the StoredIQ environment and potentially escalate privileges within the organization's data governance infrastructure. An attacker could modify user permissions, create backdoor accounts, alter data classification policies, or disrupt the normal operation of the data intelligence platform. This could lead to data exfiltration, unauthorized access to sensitive information, or complete compromise of the organization's data governance framework that relies on StoredIQ for content analysis and policy enforcement.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including deploying proper anti-forgery token mechanisms throughout the application's web interface, enabling strict origin validation for all state-changing requests, and implementing additional authentication layers for administrative functions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments and T1078 for valid accounts usage. System administrators should also review and audit user access controls, implement network segmentation for the StoredIQ environment, and monitor for suspicious API activity patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security updates and patch management processes should be enforced to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future releases, while also conducting thorough security assessments of web applications to identify and remediate similar issues in the broader application ecosystem.