CVE-2024-39727 in Engineering Insights
Summary
by MITRE • 12/25/2024
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Optimization - Engineering Insights 7.0.2 and 7.0.3 uses a web link with untrusted references to an external site. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or perform unauthorized actions on the victims’ web browser.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-39727 affects IBM Engineering Lifecycle Optimization - Engineering Insights versions 7.0.2 and 7.0.3, representing a significant security flaw that exploits unsafe web link handling mechanisms. This vulnerability falls under the category of insecure direct object references and improper input validation, as detailed in CWE-601, where the application fails to properly validate external references within web links. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate web links that point to external sites without proper security controls, creating potential entry points for malicious activities. The vulnerability specifically targets the web application's handling of external references within its user interface components, particularly those related to engineering insights and lifecycle optimization workflows.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to sanitize or validate external URLs that are embedded within web links used by the engineering insights platform. When users interact with these web links, the application does not properly verify the legitimacy or safety of external references, allowing attackers to craft malicious URLs that could redirect users to harmful sites. This weakness enables attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the application and external domains, potentially leading to cross-site scripting attacks or unauthorized data exposure. The vulnerability manifests when the application processes web links that contain untrusted external references, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can manipulate user navigation and potentially access sensitive information.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-39727 extends beyond simple information exposure, as it enables unauthorized actions within victim browsers through techniques such as cross-site request forgery and session manipulation. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, potentially compromising engineering data, system integrity, and sensitive project information. The threat model aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which describes social engineering attacks through malicious links, and T1071.004, which covers application layer protocol manipulation. Organizations using these specific IBM Engineering Insights versions face elevated risk of data breaches, intellectual property exposure, and potential system compromise through browser-based attacks that exploit the unvalidated external references.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate implementation of external reference validation controls, including the enforcement of strict URL validation mechanisms and the implementation of content security policies. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious external references, while also implementing proper input sanitization for all web link parameters. The recommended approach includes configuring the application to only allow trusted external domains, implementing proper URL encoding and validation, and establishing secure browsing practices for users interacting with engineering insights platforms. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing browser security controls such as CSP headers and sandboxing mechanisms to limit the potential impact of any successful exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in related components and ensure comprehensive protection against similar attack vectors.