CVE-2021-29837 in Sterling B2B Integrator Standard Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 10/06/2021
IBM Sterling B2B Integrator Standard Edition 5.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could allow an attacker to execute malicious and unauthorized actions transmitted from a user that the website trusts. IBM X-Force ID: 204913.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/09/2021
IBM Sterling B2B Integrator Standard Edition versions 5.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 contains a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that enables attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category of Cross-Site Request Forgery, representing a significant security weakness in the web application layer of the integration platform. The flaw occurs when the application fails to properly validate and enforce user authentication state across cross-origin requests, allowing malicious actors to craft requests that appear to originate from legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the application's web interface. When users authenticate to the IBM Sterling B2B Integrator system, the application should generate and validate unique tokens for each request to ensure that operations originate from the authenticated user's browser session. However, in vulnerable versions, these protective measures are inadequate or missing entirely, enabling attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the web application and its users. This weakness is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where the integration platform handles sensitive business transactions and data exchanges between trading partners.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential disruption of critical business processes and data compromise. Attackers could leverage this weakness to modify trading partner configurations, initiate fraudulent transactions, alter integration workflows, or manipulate data flows between business entities. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that IBM Sterling B2B Integrator is designed for enterprise use cases involving financial transactions, supply chain management, and inter-organizational data exchange. According to the ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 (Phishing) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) as attackers may use phishing techniques to deliver malicious requests or exploit the trust relationship to bypass authentication controls.
Organizations utilizing vulnerable versions of IBM Sterling B2B Integrator should immediately implement mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls, enforcement of strict cross-origin resource sharing policies, and implementation of comprehensive anti-CSRF token mechanisms. The recommended approach involves configuring the application to validate CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations, implementing SameSite cookie attributes, and ensuring proper session management controls. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. IBM has released patches addressing this vulnerability in subsequent versions of the software, and organizations should prioritize upgrading to the latest stable releases to eliminate this security risk. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security controls in enterprise integration platforms where the compromise of authentication mechanisms can lead to widespread operational disruption and financial loss.