CVE-2019-4575 in Financial Transaction Manager for Digital Payments for Multi-Platform
Summary
by MITRE • 06/15/2022
IBM Financial Transaction Manager for Digital Payments for Multi-Platform 3.2.0 through 3.2.9 is vulnerable to SQL injection. A remote attacker could send specially-crafted SQL statements, which could allow the attacker to view, add, modify or delete information in the back-end database. IBM X-Force ID: 166801.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/15/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-4575 affects IBM Financial Transaction Manager for Digital Payments for Multi-Platform versions 3.2.0 through 3.2.9, representing a critical SQL injection flaw that exposes sensitive financial data processing systems to remote exploitation. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection vulnerabilities where untrusted data is directly incorporated into SQL command strings without proper sanitization or parameterization. The affected system processes financial transactions and handles sensitive payment data, making it a prime target for cybercriminals seeking to compromise financial institutions' backend databases.
The technical flaw manifests when the application fails to properly validate and sanitize user inputs before incorporating them into database queries. Attackers can craft malicious SQL statements that exploit this weakness to manipulate the underlying database system remotely. This allows unauthorized access to perform read operations to extract sensitive financial information, write operations to inject malicious data, update operations to modify transaction records, and delete operations to remove critical payment processing data. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects the core transaction processing functionality of the system, potentially enabling attackers to alter payment records, create fraudulent transactions, or extract confidential customer financial data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it can compromise the integrity and availability of financial transaction processing systems. Financial institutions relying on this platform face significant risks including unauthorized fund transfers, data breaches affecting customer payment information, and potential regulatory violations under financial data protection regulations. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the network or system infrastructure. This makes the vulnerability particularly attractive to organized cybercriminal groups targeting financial services organizations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-4575 should prioritize immediate patch application from IBM to address the SQL injection vulnerability in affected versions of the Financial Transaction Manager. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to the affected system, deploy web application firewalls to detect and block malicious SQL injection attempts, and conduct thorough input validation and parameterization of all database queries. Additionally, implementing database activity monitoring and regular security assessments can help detect exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol usage, where attackers leverage SQL injection to manipulate backend databases. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular database audit trails to minimize potential damage from successful exploitation attempts.