CVE-2022-31775 in DataPower Gateway
Summary
by MITRE • 08/01/2022
IBM DataPower Gateway 10.0.2.0 through 10.0.4.0, 10.0.1.0 through 10.0.1.8, 10.5.0.0, and 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.21 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 228359.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-31775 represents a critical XML External Entity Injection flaw within IBM DataPower Gateway versions spanning multiple release lines including 10.0.2.0 through 10.0.4.0, 10.0.1.0 through 10.0.1.8, 10.5.0.0, and 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.21. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-611 category of XML External Entity Processing, which is classified as a serious security weakness that allows attackers to manipulate XML parsers and potentially access sensitive system resources. The DataPower Gateway serves as a critical API management and security gateway platform that processes vast amounts of XML data from various sources, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it affects core processing functionality.
The technical implementation of this XXE vulnerability occurs when the DataPower Gateway processes XML documents that contain external entity references. When an attacker crafts malicious XML input containing references to external resources, the parser may resolve these references and potentially expose internal system information or cause resource exhaustion through memory consumption. The vulnerability specifically impacts the XML processing capabilities of the gateway, allowing remote attackers to leverage this weakness without requiring authentication or privileged access. The attack vector is particularly concerning because DataPower Gateways typically process untrusted XML data from various sources including web services, APIs, and enterprise applications, creating multiple potential entry points for exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can lead to significant resource consumption and potential denial of service conditions within the DataPower environment. Attackers could exploit this weakness to consume excessive memory resources, potentially causing system instability or complete service interruption. Additionally, the vulnerability may enable attackers to access sensitive internal system information, including file system contents, network configurations, or other system metadata that should remain protected. The IBM X-Force ID 228359 associated with this vulnerability indicates the severity level and provides additional context for security professionals and incident responders. Organizations utilizing affected DataPower Gateway versions face potential exposure to data breaches, service disruptions, and operational degradation that could impact business continuity and regulatory compliance.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-31775 should prioritize immediate patching of affected DataPower Gateway versions to the latest available security releases from IBM. Organizations should also implement XML input validation and sanitization measures to prevent external entity references from being processed within the gateway environment. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit potential attack surface, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual memory consumption patterns or suspicious XML processing activities. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their DataPower deployments and consider implementing web application firewalls or API security gateways to provide additional layers of protection. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213.002 for Data from Information Repositories and T1499.004 for Endpoint Denial of Service, emphasizing the need for comprehensive defensive measures. Regular security updates and vulnerability management processes should be reinforced to prevent similar issues from arising in future deployments, particularly given the widespread use of DataPower Gateways in enterprise API management and security infrastructure.