Security Bulletin: An IBM Business Process Manager SSL connection can be established without host name verification: CVE-2012-5785

While obtaining an SSL connection, the IBM Business Process Management (BPM) system does not validate the host name of the target connection against the SubjectDN of the certificate. This situation can make the connection vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack.

CVE ID: 2012-5785
CVSS Base Score: 4.3
CVSS Temporal Score: See http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/79830 for the current score.
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N)


REMEDIATION
To eliminate a man-in-the-middle attack, apply Interim Fixes JR45329, JR45216, and JR45071, or apply a Fix Pack that contains these APARS. These changes verify the host name against the certificate SubjectDN value. Using the following links, download the interim fixes from IBM Fix Central for IBM Integration Designer, Business Space (IBM Business Monitor) and your applicable IBM Business Process Manager product:

• IBM Integration Designer: APAR JR45329
• Business Space: APAR JR45216
• IBM Business Process Manager Standard: APAR JR45071
• IBM Business Process Manager Express: APAR JR45071
• IBM Business Process Manager Advanced: APAR JR45071

If a system is incorrectly configured, setting the host name validation can result in the following error message:
HttpMethodDir I org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpMethodDirector executeWithRetry I/O exception (javax.net.ssl.SSLException) caught when processing request: hostname in certificate didn't match: <certificatehostname> != <targethostname>

You can rectify this error message by making sure the presented certificate SubjectDN matches target the host name.


REFERENCES

• Complete CVSS Guide
• On-line Calculator V2
• CVE 2012-5785
• X-Force Vulnerability Database http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/79830

Note: The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment-specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. You can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in your environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this document.

Note: According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY.