CVE-2021-35494 in JasperReports Server
Summary
by MITRE • 10/12/2021
The Rest API component of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server - Community Edition, TIBCO JasperReports Server - Developer Edition, TIBCO JasperReports Server for AWS Marketplace, TIBCO JasperReports Server for ActiveMatrix BPM, and TIBCO JasperReports Server for Microsoft Azure contain a race condition that allows a low privileged authenticated attacker via the REST API to obtain read access to temporary objects created by other users on the affected system. Affected releases are TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO JasperReports Server: versions 7.2.1 and below, TIBCO JasperReports Server: versions 7.5.0 and 7.5.1, TIBCO JasperReports Server: version 7.8.0, TIBCO JasperReports Server: version 7.9.0, TIBCO JasperReports Server - Community Edition: versions 7.8.0 and below, TIBCO JasperReports Server - Developer Edition: versions 7.9.0 and below, TIBCO JasperReports Server for AWS Marketplace: versions 7.9.0 and below, TIBCO JasperReports Server for ActiveMatrix BPM: versions 7.9.0 and below, and TIBCO JasperReports Server for Microsoft Azure: version 7.8.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2021-35494 represents a critical race condition flaw within the REST API component of TIBCO JasperReports Server across multiple editions and deployment scenarios. This issue affects a wide range of TIBCO JasperReports Server versions including community, developer, AWS Marketplace, ActiveMatrix BPM, and Microsoft Azure variants. The race condition manifests as a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows low-privileged authenticated users to gain unauthorized read access to temporary objects created by other users within the system. The flaw exists in the temporal ordering of object creation and access control mechanisms, creating a window where temporary files or resources can be accessed by unauthorized parties before proper access controls are enforced.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper synchronization mechanisms during the creation and management of temporary objects within the REST API framework. When users submit requests that generate temporary resources, the system creates these objects with potentially insufficient access controls or without proper temporal isolation. The race condition occurs between the time when a temporary object is created and when appropriate access restrictions are applied to that object. This temporal gap allows an attacker to exploit the system's timing behavior and access resources that should normally be restricted to the original creator or specific authorized users.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security concerns for organizations utilizing TIBCO JasperReports Server environments. The ability for low-privileged users to read temporary objects created by other users potentially exposes sensitive data, configuration information, or intermediate processing results that should remain confidential. The scope of impact extends across multiple deployment models including cloud environments, on-premises installations, and various edition variants, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations with diverse infrastructure deployments. The vulnerability affects both authenticated and unauthenticated access patterns, though the initial exploitation requires authentication, the consequences can be severe for data confidentiality and system integrity.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-367, which specifically addresses Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race conditions, and represents a classic example of improper resource management in concurrent systems. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques through API abuse and information disclosure, potentially enabling attackers to move laterally within systems or gather intelligence for further exploitation. Organizations should consider implementing immediate mitigations including access control hardening, temporal access restriction mechanisms, and comprehensive monitoring of REST API activities. The remediation strategy should focus on ensuring proper synchronization of object creation and access control enforcement, implementing stricter temporal isolation of temporary resources, and conducting thorough security testing of concurrent system operations. Organizations using affected versions should prioritize upgrading to patched releases while implementing network segmentation and access control measures to limit the potential impact of this race condition vulnerability.