CVE-2020-4309 in Content Navigator
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Content Navigator 3.0CD could disclose sensitive information to an unauthenticated user which could be used to aid in further attacks against the system. IBM X-Force ID: 177080.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2024
IBM Content Navigator version 3.0CD contains a critical information disclosure vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to access sensitive system data through improperly secured application components. This vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls within the application's authentication mechanisms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to extract confidential information without requiring valid credentials. The flaw represents a significant security weakness that directly violates fundamental principles of information security and access control. The vulnerability enables attackers to obtain system metadata, configuration details, and potentially user-related information that could serve as a foundation for more sophisticated attack vectors. Security researchers have identified this issue as particularly dangerous because it operates without requiring any authentication credentials, making it accessible to anyone who can reach the affected system. The disclosed information may include system identifiers, internal network configurations, and other sensitive data elements that could facilitate privilege escalation or lateral movement within the target environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves flaws in the application's session management and authentication bypass mechanisms. When users interact with the Content Navigator application, the system fails to properly validate access permissions for certain endpoints, allowing unauthorized data retrieval through standard web requests. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which specifically addresses improper information disclosure, and represents a classic case of insufficient access control. The flaw typically manifests when the application processes requests to internal APIs or administrative endpoints that should only be accessible to authenticated users with appropriate privileges. Attackers can exploit this by crafting specific HTTP requests that bypass normal authentication checks, thereby gaining access to information that should remain restricted. The vulnerability affects the application's web interface and potentially its underlying API components, creating multiple attack surfaces for exploitation. From an operational perspective, this weakness creates an immediate risk for organizations using the affected version, as it provides attackers with valuable reconnaissance data that can be used to plan more targeted attacks against the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates a foundation for more advanced attack techniques and potentially leads to complete system compromise. Organizations may face significant risks including unauthorized data access, system reconnaissance, and potential privilege escalation opportunities that could allow attackers to gain administrative access to the Content Navigator environment. The vulnerability's exposure of system internals can enable attackers to map network topology, identify other vulnerable components, and develop more sophisticated attack strategies. From a compliance standpoint, this vulnerability could result in regulatory violations and security audit failures, particularly in environments governed by standards such as pci dss, hipaa, or iso 27001. The risk is amplified when the affected system is part of a larger enterprise environment, as the disclosed information could be used to identify additional attack vectors within the broader network infrastructure. Security teams may also experience increased incident response burden as this vulnerability creates additional attack surface that must be monitored and protected against.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including applying the vendor-provided security patches, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the affected application, and conducting comprehensive security assessments of their Content Navigator deployments. Access control measures should be strengthened through proper configuration of authentication mechanisms and implementation of additional security layers such as web application firewalls. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1083, which covers discovery of system information, and T1566, which addresses credential access through various methods. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous access patterns to the affected application components, and network traffic analysis should be performed to identify potential exploitation attempts. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar issues in other enterprise applications. Additionally, organizations should review their incident response procedures to ensure readiness for potential exploitation of this vulnerability and maintain updated threat intelligence feeds to monitor for related attack patterns. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to verify that the vulnerability has been properly addressed without introducing new security issues into the environment.