CVE-2021-29713 in Jazz Team Server
Summary
by MITRE • 10/27/2021
IBM Jazz Team Server products are 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.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-29713 affects IBM Jazz Team Server products, which are widely used for collaborative software development and project management within enterprise environments. This cross-site scripting vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of web-based interfaces. The affected products include various components of the IBM Jazz platform that utilize web technologies for user interaction and system management. Organizations relying on these tools for development workflows, issue tracking, and team collaboration face significant risks due to this vulnerability's potential to compromise user sessions and sensitive data.
The technical flaw manifests through improper input validation and output encoding within the web user interface components of IBM Jazz Team Server. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious JavaScript code through vulnerable input fields or parameters that are not properly sanitized before being rendered in the web interface. The vulnerability specifically affects how the system processes and displays user-supplied data, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of a victim's browser session. This occurs when the application fails to properly escape or validate special characters that could be interpreted as executable code by web browsers, creating a persistent XSS vector that can be leveraged across multiple user sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple web interface manipulation to potentially enable complete session hijacking and credential theft. When users interact with the compromised system, their browser sessions become vulnerable to attacks that can capture authentication tokens, cookies, and other session-related data. This allows adversaries to impersonate legitimate users and gain unauthorized access to sensitive project information, development resources, and collaborative workspaces. The threat is particularly severe in enterprise environments where these tools are used for managing source code repositories, tracking bugs, and coordinating development activities, as successful exploitation could lead to data breaches, intellectual property theft, and disruption of development workflows. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it operates within the trusted session context, making detection more challenging and the attack surface more expansive.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including comprehensive input validation and output encoding across all web interfaces, deployment of web application firewalls, and regular security updates from IBM. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as a fundamental web application security weakness, and it maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering through malicious content delivery. Security teams should conduct thorough penetration testing to identify all potential entry points, implement content security policies to restrict script execution, and establish monitoring protocols to detect anomalous user behavior patterns. Additionally, user education regarding suspicious links and content should be emphasized, while regular security assessments of the Jazz Team Server components should be performed to ensure ongoing protection against similar vulnerabilities. The remediation process requires careful attention to maintain system functionality while implementing robust security controls that prevent future exploitation attempts.