CVE-2019-4294 in DataPower Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
IBM DataPower Gateway 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.6, 7.6.0.0 through 7.6.0.15 and IBM MQ Appliance 8.0.0.0 through 8.0.0.12, 9.1.0.0 through 9.1.0.2, and 9.1.1 through 9.1.2 could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the system, caused by a command injection vulnerability. IBM X-Force ID: 16188.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2023
IBM DataPower Gateway and IBM MQ Appliance versions 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.6, 7.6.0.0 through 7.6.0.15, and IBM MQ Appliance versions 8.0.0.0 through 8.0.0.12, 9.1.0.0 through 9.1.0.2, and 9.1.1 through 9.1.2 contain a command injection vulnerability that enables local attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the application's command processing functions, allowing maliciously crafted input to be interpreted and executed as system commands. The flaw exists in the way these IBM appliances handle user-supplied data in command execution contexts, creating a direct path for privilege escalation and system compromise. The vulnerability is classified as a command injection flaw under CWE-77, which is a well-known weakness in software security that permits attackers to inject and execute operating system commands through vulnerable input handling mechanisms. The attack vector requires local access to the system, meaning an attacker must already have some level of access to the appliance's operating environment before exploiting this vulnerability. This represents a significant security risk as local attackers with minimal privileges could leverage this weakness to gain elevated system access and potentially compromise the entire appliance infrastructure. The impact extends beyond simple command execution, as successful exploitation could allow attackers to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, install malicious software, or establish persistent backdoors within the appliance environment. Organizations using these specific versions of IBM DataPower Gateway and IBM MQ Appliance should immediately apply the relevant security patches provided by IBM to address this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under privilege escalation and command execution techniques, where adversaries exploit software flaws to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability affects both the DataPower Gateway and MQ Appliance product lines, indicating a potential widespread impact across enterprise messaging and integration environments that rely on these IBM solutions for secure data processing and transmission. This command injection vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and proper command execution handling in enterprise security appliances, where the compromise of a single appliance can potentially affect entire network infrastructures. Organizations should conduct immediate vulnerability assessments to identify affected systems and implement additional monitoring measures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The security implications of this vulnerability extend to compliance requirements, as many regulatory frameworks mandate the protection of enterprise systems against known vulnerabilities and require prompt remediation of security flaws. System administrators should also review access controls and privilege management policies to minimize the potential impact of such vulnerabilities in environments where local access might be more broadly available than anticipated.