CVE-2026-15280 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE • 07/29/2026
IBM WebSphere Application Server - Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.8 ND Collective Controller is affected by a path-segment injection vulnerability in the collective routing mechanism.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/29/2026
This vulnerability resides within IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty profile versions ranging from 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.8, specifically impacting the collective controller functionality that manages distributed application server environments. The core issue manifests as a path-segment injection flaw in the collective routing mechanism, which allows unauthorized users to manipulate URL paths and potentially access restricted resources or execute malicious operations across the managed servers. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-22 Path Traversal and CWE-444 Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests, both of which fall under the broader category of web application security weaknesses that enable attackers to manipulate application behavior through crafted input.
The technical exploitation occurs when the collective controller processes incoming requests that contain malicious path segments, allowing an attacker to bypass normal access controls and potentially redirect traffic to unintended destinations within the distributed server environment. This vulnerability affects the routing logic that determines how requests are distributed across multiple servers in a collective configuration, creating opportunities for privilege escalation and unauthorized data access. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization of path components within the collective controller's request handling mechanism, which fails to properly validate or canonicalize user-supplied URL paths before processing them in the routing decision process.
Operationally, this vulnerability can have severe implications for organizations using IBM WebSphere Liberty profiles in production environments where multiple servers are managed through a collective controller. Attackers could potentially manipulate the routing decisions to redirect requests to specific servers within the collective, access sensitive administrative interfaces, or perform unauthorized operations across the managed server fleet. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure to include potential service disruption and unauthorized access to critical business applications hosted on the affected servers. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access and T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol DNS, as it enables attackers to manipulate application routing to gain elevated privileges or access restricted resources.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected IBM WebSphere Liberty versions to the latest available releases that contain fixes for this path-segment injection vulnerability. Organizations should also implement network-level controls such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious path manipulation attempts, along with enhanced input validation procedures at the application level. Additionally, implementing strict access controls and monitoring for unusual routing patterns within the collective controller environment can help detect potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should conduct thorough assessments of their Liberty profile deployments to identify all instances of affected versions and ensure proper configuration of the collective controller components to minimize exposure risk. The vulnerability represents a critical security gap that requires immediate attention due to its potential for enabling broader compromise within distributed server environments.