CVE-2019-4669 in Business Automation Workflow
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Business Process Manager 8.5.7.0 through 8.5.7.0 2017.06, 8.6.0.0 through 8.6.0.0 CF2018.03, and IBM Business Automation Workflow 18.0.0.1 through 19.0.0.3 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: 171254.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2024
IBM Business Process Manager and IBM Business Automation Workflow products contain a critical SQL injection vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute unauthorized database operations. This vulnerability exists in multiple versions including 8.5.7.0 through 8.5.7.0 2017.06, 8.6.0.0 through 8.6.0.0 CF2018.03, and IBM Business Automation Workflow 18.0.0.1 through 19.0.0.3, making it a widespread concern across enterprise workflow automation platforms. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and improper parameter handling in database query construction, which directly maps to CWE-89 SQL Injection vulnerability classification. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious SQL statements that bypass authentication mechanisms and directly interact with the underlying database system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it provides attackers with full database access capabilities including data reading, insertion, modification, and deletion operations. This means that unauthorized users could potentially extract sensitive business information, manipulate workflow processes, corrupt critical data, or even escalate privileges within the system. The remote nature of the attack vector eliminates the need for physical access or insider knowledge, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where these products are commonly deployed. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol: Structured Query Language, which describes how adversaries use SQL injection to manipulate database systems and extract sensitive information.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, parameterized queries, and proper database access controls to prevent exploitation. Organizations must ensure that all affected versions are patched according to IBM security advisories and that database connections are properly secured with least privilege principles. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization and parameterized queries in preventing database injection attacks, which should be considered fundamental security practices in all application development and deployment processes. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous database access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.