CVE-2023-24971 in B2B Advanced Communications
Summary
by MITRE • 07/31/2023
IBM B2B Advanced Communications 1.0.0.0 and IBM Multi-Enterprise Integration Gateway 1.0.0.1 could allow a user to cause a denial of service due to the deserializing of untrusted serialized Java objects. IBM X-Force ID: 246976.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/31/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-24971 affects IBM B2B Advanced Communications version 1.0.0.0 and IBM Multi-Enterprise Integration Gateway version 1.0.0.1, representing a critical security flaw in enterprise integration software that facilitates business-to-business communication and multi-enterprise data exchange. This issue manifests as a denial of service condition that can be triggered by an attacker who manipulates serialized Java objects within the system's processing pipeline. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate and sanitize serialized object data before deserializing it, creating an exploitable entry point for malicious actors seeking to disrupt service availability.
The technical flaw resides in the application's object deserialization mechanism which processes serialized Java objects without adequate security controls to verify their authenticity and integrity. When untrusted serialized data is received through legitimate communication channels, the system attempts to deserialize these objects without proper validation, potentially executing malicious code or causing the application to crash. This behavior aligns with common patterns found in deserialization vulnerabilities that have been extensively documented in security literature and categorized under CWE-502. The vulnerability specifically enables an attacker to craft serialized objects that, when processed, can cause the target system to consume excessive resources or enter an unstable state, ultimately leading to service disruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially compromise the entire integration ecosystem that relies on these platforms for critical business operations. Organizations utilizing these IBM products may experience significant downtime during attack windows, leading to disrupted supply chain communications, delayed transactions, and potential financial losses. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges since it operates within the legitimate processing boundaries of the application, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered by users with normal access rights. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the ATT&CK framework under the T1499.004 technique category, specifically targeting application availability through resource exhaustion and system instability.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems with the vendor-provided security updates, while implementing additional defensive measures such as network segmentation to limit access to integration endpoints, monitoring for unusual deserialization patterns, and implementing proper input validation controls. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict which serialized objects can be processed, as well as establishing comprehensive logging and alerting mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices and the need for robust validation of all external inputs, particularly in enterprise integration platforms where data flows between multiple organizations and systems. Given the nature of business-to-business communication, the impact of such vulnerabilities can cascade across entire supply chains, making prompt remediation essential for maintaining operational continuity and protecting sensitive business data exchanges.