CVE-2021-38985 in Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 11/12/2021
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/16/2021
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager versions 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 contain a vulnerability classified as insufficient input validation that affects the system's ability to process data safely. This weakness stems from the software's failure to properly validate input data before processing, creating potential attack vectors that could be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability resides in the application's data handling mechanisms where it accepts input without adequate validation checks, allowing potentially malformed or unauthorized data to be processed through the system. According to CWE-20, this represents a classic input validation flaw where the software does not properly sanitize or verify the integrity of received data. The vulnerability enables attackers to potentially manipulate the system's processing behavior by submitting crafted inputs that may bypass normal validation procedures. This weakness falls under the broader category of data validation failures that are commonly exploited in various attack scenarios including injection attacks, buffer overflows, and arbitrary code execution attempts. The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption as it could enable unauthorized access to key management processes, potentially compromising the entire key lifecycle management infrastructure. Organizations using these specific versions of IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager face significant security risks due to this validation gap that could be leveraged for privilege escalation or system compromise. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1210 which involves exploitation of remote services through input validation flaws, making it particularly concerning for environments where key management systems are exposed to external networks. This issue represents a fundamental security weakness in the software's architecture that allows for potential manipulation of key management operations through improperly validated input data. The lack of proper input validation creates an environment where attackers can potentially inject malicious data that the system processes without adequate safeguards, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential security breaches. Security researchers have identified that this vulnerability could be exploited in conjunction with other techniques to gain deeper access to the key management infrastructure, making it a critical concern for organizations relying on secure key lifecycle management. The flaw demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in security-critical applications, particularly those handling cryptographic keys and sensitive data. Organizations should prioritize patching affected systems to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability creates a pathway for attackers to potentially compromise the integrity of key management operations and the security of encrypted data. This weakness underscores the necessity of implementing comprehensive input validation frameworks that can detect and reject malformed or unauthorized inputs before they are processed by critical security systems. The vulnerability's potential for exploitation aligns with industry best practices for secure coding that emphasize the need for thorough input validation to prevent various classes of security incidents. Given the nature of key management systems, any input validation failure can have cascading effects on the entire security infrastructure, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where cryptographic keys are managed and protected. The affected IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager versions require immediate attention and remediation to address this critical validation weakness that could be leveraged by threat actors to compromise key management processes and potentially gain unauthorized access to protected data assets.