CVE-2026-14502 in DataPower Gateway
Summary
by MITRE • 10/08/2026
IBM DataPower Gateway 10.5.0.0 through 10.5.0.22, 10.6.1 through 10.6.6, 10.6.0.0 through 10.6.0.10, and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.0.2 could allow a remote attacker to obtain administrative access due to failure to reject empty passwords during LDAP authentication.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2026
The vulnerability identified in IBM DataPower Gateway versions ranging from 10.5.0.0 through 10.5.0.22, 10.6.1 through 10.6.6, 10.6.0.0 through 10.6.0.10, and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.0.2 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw rooted in improper handling of LDAP credentials. This security defect allows remote attackers to gain administrative access by exploiting the system's failure to reject empty passwords during the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol authentication process. In standard secure configurations, an identity provider or directory service such as Active Directory or OpenLDAP requires both a valid username and a non-empty password to establish trust. However, in this specific implementation within DataPower Gateway, the application logic incorrectly accepts credentials where the password field is left blank, provided that the username corresponds to an existing administrative account with LDAP authentication enabled. This behavior deviates from fundamental security principles regarding credential validation and creates a significant entry point for unauthorized access.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns closely with CWE-287, which describes Improper Authentication, specifically falling under scenarios where input validation fails to enforce minimum complexity or presence requirements for critical authentication fields. The vulnerability likely stems from a logic error in the integration layer between DataPower Gateway and its configured LDAP backend. When an administrator configures LDAP as an external user registry, the gateway is expected to relay credentials to the directory server for verification. In this vulnerable state, the application either fails to transmit the empty password field correctly or accepts a null response from the LDAP service without verifying that a valid credential pair was presented. This allows an attacker who knows or can guess a privileged username to bypass authentication entirely by submitting only the username with no accompanying secret material. The absence of robust input sanitization and validation for the password parameter is the core technical deficiency enabling this exploit.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, as it directly compromises the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the gateway infrastructure. IBM DataPower Gateway serves as a critical component in enterprise service-oriented architectures, often handling API management, message routing, security policy enforcement, and protocol translation between disparate systems. If an attacker gains administrative access through this LDAP authentication bypass, they can modify global settings, alter security policies, inject malicious payloads into traffic flows, or exfiltrate sensitive data passing through the gateway. Furthermore, because DataPower is frequently positioned at the network perimeter, compromising it provides a foothold for lateral movement within the internal network. Attackers could potentially disable logging mechanisms to cover their tracks, create backdoor accounts that persist even if the LDAP vulnerability is patched, and disrupt critical business services by altering routing rules or terminating sessions. This level of access effectively neutralizes the security controls managed by the gateway itself.
Mitigation strategies must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural hardening. The primary defense is to apply the vendor-supplied patches for all affected versions immediately upon availability, ensuring that the application logic correctly rejects empty passwords during LDAP authentication flows. In environments where patching cannot be applied instantly due to operational constraints, administrators should implement compensating controls such as restricting access to the DataPower management interface via IP whitelisting or firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted networks only. Additionally, organizations should review their LDAP configuration and consider disabling external user registry authentication for administrative accounts in favor of local authentication with strong password policies, or implementing multi-factor authentication if supported by the specific version's capabilities. Regular audits of privileged account activity and monitoring for anomalous login attempts can also help detect exploitation efforts early.
This vulnerability underscores the importance of rigorous input validation across all layers of an application stack, particularly when integrating with external identity providers. Security best practices dictate that no credential field should be treated as optional unless explicitly designed for anonymous access scenarios, which are inherently risky in administrative contexts. By adhering to standards such as those outlined by the Open Web Application Security Project and following secure coding guidelines from organizations like OWASP, developers can prevent similar authentication bypasses. The incident also highlights the need for continuous vulnerability management programs that prioritize high-severity flaws affecting core infrastructure components, ensuring that critical systems remain resilient against known exploitation techniques targeting identity and access management subsystems.