CVE-2020-4680 in Security Guardium
Summary
by MITRE • 10/12/2020
IBM Security Guardium 11.2 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 186426.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2020
IBM Security Guardium version 11.2 contains a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a significant security risk to organizations relying on this database security platform. The flaw exists within the web user interface component where user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to the browser. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored XSS attack vector where malicious JavaScript code can be permanently embedded within the application's interface. The vulnerability allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of a victim's browser session, potentially compromising the integrity of the security monitoring environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited to hijack user sessions and extract sensitive information. When a user interacts with the vulnerable Guardium interface, the embedded JavaScript code executes within their browser context, potentially capturing session cookies, credentials, or other sensitive data transmitted through the web interface. The attack scenario involves an attacker crafting malicious input that gets stored in the application's database or interface elements, then executed when other users view the affected content. This creates a dangerous situation where legitimate users who trust the Guardium interface become unwitting participants in credential theft operations, as the malicious code operates within the trusted session context of authenticated users.
The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in input validation and output encoding within the Guardium web application framework, where the system fails to properly escape or filter user-provided content before rendering it in HTML contexts. This represents a critical weakness in the application's defense-in-depth strategy, as it allows attackers to bypass traditional security controls by leveraging the trusted relationship between the user and the application interface. The IBM X-Force ID 186426 classification indicates the severity of this issue within the broader security landscape, highlighting that this vulnerability can be exploited to achieve privilege escalation and data exfiltration from within the security monitoring environment. Organizations using Guardium may find their database security monitoring capabilities compromised, as attackers could potentially use this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to sensitive database information while remaining undetected by the very system designed to protect against such threats.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation controls, output encoding of all user-supplied content, and regular security updates to address this vulnerability. The recommended approach includes deploying web application firewalls to filter malicious payloads, implementing content security policies to prevent script execution, and ensuring all users are running the latest patched versions of the Guardium platform. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring for suspicious script injection attempts within the Guardium interface. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar issues in other components of the security infrastructure. This particular vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which involves creating or modifying system processes to gain persistence, and represents a critical threat vector that requires immediate attention to maintain the integrity of database security monitoring operations.