CVE-2026-17410 in API Connect
Summary
by MITRE • 11/07/2026
IBM API Connect 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.1.2 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to access and modify other tenants' portal data due to improper neutralization of argument delimiters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/07/2026
The vulnerability identified in IBM API Connect versions 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.1.2 represents a critical security flaw within the platform's multi-tenant architecture, specifically affecting the portal interface used for managing API products and services. This issue stems from an improper neutralization of argument delimiters, which allows a remote authenticated attacker to manipulate input parameters in ways that bypass intended isolation mechanisms between tenants. In enterprise environments utilizing IBM API Connect as an API gateway and management platform, maintaining strict data segregation is paramount to ensure confidentiality and integrity across different organizational units or customer segments. The flaw essentially enables an adversary who has valid credentials for one tenant account to craft specific requests where delimiter characters are not properly sanitized or escaped before being processed by the backend systems.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command and more specifically relates to injection flaws such as CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code (Code Injection) when applied to server-side logic or data parsing routines. The core issue lies in how the application parses user-supplied input that contains delimiter characters, which are typically used to separate distinct arguments or parameters within a command string or query structure. When these delimiters are not correctly neutralized, they can be interpreted as structural elements of the underlying system commands or database queries rather than literal data values. This misinterpretation allows an attacker to inject additional instructions or alter existing ones, effectively changing the context in which the application operates during request processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for cross-tenant data access and modification. Since IBM API Connect often serves as a central hub for managing APIs across multiple business units or external partners, each tenant's data must remain strictly isolated from others. An attacker exploiting this flaw could potentially read sensitive configuration details, view proprietary API definitions, or even modify critical settings belonging to other tenants within the same deployment instance. This breach of isolation undermines the fundamental trust model of multi-tenant SaaS and on-premise deployments, leading to potential unauthorized disclosure of intellectual property, disruption of service availability through malicious modifications, and compliance violations related to data privacy regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA if sensitive customer data is exposed.
This type of attack vector is consistent with techniques observed in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under Injection (T1190) and potentially Command Line Interface Exploitation (T1059). The attacker leverages their authenticated status to bypass initial access controls, focusing instead on privilege escalation through data manipulation rather than traditional authentication bypass. By exploiting the lack of proper input validation regarding delimiter characters, the adversary can execute actions that were not intended by the system designers, effectively achieving a form of horizontal privilege escalation where they gain capabilities beyond what their assigned tenant role should permit.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve immediate application of vendor-provided patches to update IBM API Connect to versions later than 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.1.2, which include fixes for the input validation logic. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible, administrators should implement strict web application firewall rules that inspect incoming requests for suspicious delimiter patterns or injection signatures targeting API management endpoints. Additionally, enforcing principle of least privilege by restricting administrative access to only those users who absolutely require it can reduce the attack surface. Regular security audits and code reviews focusing on input handling in custom integrations with the platform are also recommended to ensure no secondary vulnerabilities exist that could be chained with this flaw for more significant impact.