CVE-2021-39038 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE • 02/24/2022
IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0 and IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 22.0.0.2 could allow a remote attacker to hijack the clicking action of the victim. By persuading a victim to visit a malicious Web site, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to hijack the victim's click actions and possibly launch further attacks against the victim. IBM X-Force ID: 213968.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2022
This vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Application Server versions 9.0 and IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 22.0.0.2 represents a sophisticated clickjacking flaw that undermines user interaction security. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to manipulate user click actions through malicious web content, effectively hijacking the intended user interactions. This type of attack exploits the trust relationship between web applications and users, where legitimate user actions can be redirected or manipulated without the user's knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability leverages cross-site scripting and user interface manipulation techniques to capture and redirect click events. Attackers can craft malicious web pages that appear legitimate to users while simultaneously capturing their click interactions and redirecting them to unintended targets. This creates a dangerous scenario where users believe they are interacting with benign applications, but their actions are being hijacked to perform malicious operations. The vulnerability specifically targets the web application server's handling of user input events, particularly mouse click operations, which are fundamental to web application interaction.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations using affected IBM WebSphere versions. The ability to hijack click actions opens the door to various secondary attacks including credential theft, unauthorized transaction processing, and data manipulation. Users may unknowingly perform actions such as transferring funds, modifying sensitive data, or accessing restricted resources. The attack vector requires social engineering to persuade victims to visit malicious websites, but once successful, the impact can be severe and difficult to detect. This vulnerability directly violates security principles of user intent and application integrity, as user actions are being manipulated without proper authorization.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. Browser-based security controls including clickjacking protection mechanisms and frame busting techniques should be enabled. Web application firewalls can help detect and block malicious content attempting to exploit this vulnerability. Regular security updates and patches from IBM should be deployed immediately upon availability. Network segmentation and user access controls can limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Security awareness training for users can help identify suspicious websites and reduce successful social engineering attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-1021, which addresses improper restriction of excessive user actions, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage and T1531 for credential access through manipulation of user interactions. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers and X-Frame-Options directives to provide additional protection against clickjacking attacks.