CVE-2021-22535 in Directory and Resource Administrator
Summary
by MITRE • 09/28/2021
Unauthorized information security disclosure vulnerability on Micro Focus Directory and Resource Administrator (DRA) product, affecting all DRA versions prior to 10.1 Patch 1. The vulnerability could lead to unauthorized information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2021
The CVE-2021-22535 vulnerability represents a critical unauthorized information disclosure flaw within Micro Focus Directory and Resource Administrator DRA product ecosystem. This vulnerability affects all versions prior to 10.1 Patch 1, exposing organizations to potential data breaches and information leakage risks. The flaw resides in the product's security architecture and authentication mechanisms, creating a pathway for unauthorized parties to access sensitive information that should remain protected within the system. Such vulnerabilities are particularly concerning in directory and resource management systems where access controls are paramount for maintaining organizational security postures.
Technical analysis reveals that the vulnerability stems from inadequate access control enforcement within the DRA product's information handling processes. The flaw allows attackers to bypass normal authentication procedures and gain access to restricted data resources that should only be available to authorized administrators or users. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege and could enable attackers to extract user credentials, system configurations, directory information, or other sensitive metadata stored within the DRA environment. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data exposure as it undermines the entire trust model of the directory service infrastructure.
The operational implications of CVE-2021-22535 are severe and multifaceted across enterprise environments. Organizations utilizing affected DRA versions face potential compromise of their entire directory service infrastructure, which could lead to cascading security failures throughout their network. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could obtain access to user accounts, authentication tokens, and system configuration details that would enable further lateral movement within the network. This type of information disclosure vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 access control weaknesses and could be leveraged as part of broader attack chains documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and credential access tactics. The vulnerability essentially provides attackers with a backdoor into the core identity and access management systems that organizations rely upon for security enforcement.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-22535 center on immediate patch deployment to DRA versions 10.1 Patch 1 or later, which addresses the underlying access control implementation flaws. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments of their directory service environments to identify any potential compromise indicators or unauthorized access patterns that may have occurred prior to patching. Network segmentation and enhanced monitoring of directory service communications can provide additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts. Security teams should implement strict access controls and audit logging for directory service interfaces, ensuring that all access attempts are properly authenticated and recorded. Additionally, organizations should review their overall identity and access management policies to ensure that the vulnerability's exploitation paths are not inadvertently supported by overly permissive configurations in related systems.