In recent years, cybersecurity has become a critical focus for organizations worldwide. One such area of concern is the management of user sessions within web applications. CVE-2022-40230 is a newly identified vulnerability, impacting IBM MQ Appliance versions 9.2 CD, 9.2 LTS, 9.3 CD, and LTS 9.3.

In this blog post, we will explore the details of this vulnerability, offer insights into how it works, provide code snippets, and direct you to the corresponding original references. Our aim is to help you gain a better understanding of this security issue and the potential consequences of exploitation.

The Vulnerability

The CVE-2022-40230 vulnerability, as recorded within the IBM X-Force vulnerability database (IBM X-Force ID: 235532), involves improper handling of session invalidation after the logout process. This flaw could enable an authenticated user to impersonate another user on the system [1].

Typically, when a user logs out of a web application, their session should be invalidated, preventing unauthorized access. However, in this case, the IBM MQ Appliance software does not correctly invalidate the user's session, allowing an attacker to potentially hijack another user's session.

Exploiting CVE-2022-40230

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to obtain a session token from a legitimate user after they have logged out. This could be accomplished through various methods, such as intercepting network traffic or compromising the user's device.

Once the attacker has obtained the session token, they can use it to impersonate the user within the IBM MQ Appliance application. This could allow an attacker to perform actions on the user's behalf, potentially leading to the compromise of sensitive information or unauthorized changes to the system.

An example of a simple session hijacking exploit in Python might look like this

import requests

# Replace these values with valid session tokens and target URL
valid_token = "valid_session_token"
target_url = "https://target_ibm_mq_appliance_url/login";

# Create a session object
exploit_session = requests.Session()

# Set the session cookie with the valid token
exploit_session.cookies.set("session_cookie", valid_token)

# Send a request to the target URL
response = exploit_session.get(target_url)

# Check if impersonation was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Successfully impersonated user")
else:
    print("Failed to impersonate user")

Mitigation

IBM recommends upgrading to a fixed, non-vulnerable version of the software to address this issue. Specifically, they advise upgrading to IBM MQ Appliance version 9.2 LTS IF6, 9.2 CD IF36, or MQ Appliance firmware 9.3 LTS IF5 [2]. Applying these updates will ensure proper session invalidation, protecting users from session hijacking attacks.

We encourage you to review the following sources for further information about CVE-2022-40230

1. IBM Security Bulletin 6612802: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6612802
2. National Vulnerability Database Entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40230
3. IBM X-Force ID 235532: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/235532

Conclusion

CVE-2022-40230 highlights the importance of proper user session management and the potential danger posed by session hijacking attacks. By upgrading to a fixed version of IBM MQ Appliance and remaining vigilant about cybersecurity best practices, you can help safeguard your organization against such threats.

Timeline

Published on: 11/03/2022 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/04/2022 17:14:00 UTC