Direct links to fixes
APAR status
Closed as program error.
Error description
IBM Business Process Manager (BPM) does not enforce the use of secure HTTPS for several browser-targeted web modules. A client can connect to IBM BPM by using non-secure HTTP and, thus, cause the following concerns: -A security concern because almost all interactions with IBM BPM require authentication; therefore, almost all requests sent to IBM BPM contain some kind of credential, such as a cookie that allows impersonation of the user until expiration (2h by default) or a user name password that might be valid for much longer. -A functional concern because browsers make new HTML5 features available only for secure connections. The use of "mixed content" (where some content of a web site is loaded over non-secure HTTP and some other resources are loaded over secure HTTPS) frequently causes trouble, such as silently failing Ajax requests or missing stylesheets. Because non-secure access by using HTTP was possible, IBM BPM did not set the Secure flag for cookies, such as JSESSIONID and LtpaToken2, by default. This secure flag restricts clients to submit these cookies only over a secure connection and is often flagged as a weakness in vulnerability scans or penetration tests. PRODUCTS AFFECTED IBM BPM Advanced IBM BPM Standard IBM BPM Express
Local fix
Problem summary
No additional information is available.
Problem conclusion
A fix will be included in IBM BPM V8.5.7 cumulative fix 2017.03 that -Enforces the use of secure HTTPS for browser targeting web applications. This enforcement is achieved by modifying the web deployment descriptor of the applications, specifically by adding a user-data constraint with a requirement of CONFIDENTIAL. As a result, a non-secure HTTP request results in a HTTP 302 response that redirects the client to the secure equivalent of the URL. For example, a request to http://bpm.customer.com:9080/teamworks would be redirected to https://bpm.customer.com:9443/teamworks. Browsers and some programmatic HTTP client libraries follow these redirects automatically so, for them, this change is transparent. However, because a the redirect target is a secure URL, the client must trust the HTTPS certificate of the server, which might require adding IBM BPM's signer certificate into the client's truststore. Some clients, such as SOAP clients, do not follow this redirect automatically. Therefore, SOAP web services are excluded from HTTPS enforcement by default. If you have other programmatic clients that use non secure HTTP to connect to IBM BPM and do not follow redirects automatically, you must update the configuration of these clients to use a secure connection instead. SCA modules in IBM BPM Advanced are unchanged. -Sets useHTTPSURLPrefixes to true during the cumulative fix upgrade from IBM BPM V8.5.0.0. There are several scenarios in which IBM BPM must calculate a URL for clients to contact IBM BPM. The exact URL might need to be different, depending on the type (and network location) of the client. The useHTTPSURLPrefixes configuration setting determines whether URLs are generated with a non-secure http:// or secure https:// prefix. This setting has been set to true (https://) for new installations since IBM BPM V8.5.0.1. However, for environments that were initially created with BPM V8.5.0.0 the value was preserved; so some IBM BPM environments might have calculated http:// URLs. With this fix, we set the value of useHTTPSURLPrefixes to true by default, even for upgraded environments. -Sets the secure flag for LTPA and for session cookies. Because all clients connect to IBM BPM securely with this fix installed, IBM BPM can set the secure flag for LTPA and for session cookies. This flag tells browsers to submit these (sensitive) cookies over secure connections only. -Introduces AdminTask.configureBPMTransportSecurity, As explained in the first bullet, HTTPS enforcement is achieved by changes to the web deployment descriptors of various web modules. Modifying deployment descriptors is not supported, but if you temporarily must reenable non-secure HTTP access because some programmatic clients have non-secure connections and they cannot be updated immediately, this AdminTask allows you to reconfigure these deployment descriptors to allow non secure HTTP access.
Temporary fix
Comments
APAR Information
APAR number
JR57300
Reported component name
BPM STANDARD
Reported component ID
5725C9500
Reported release
857
Status
CLOSED PER
PE
NoPE
HIPER
NoHIPER
Special Attention
NoSpecatt / Xsystem
Submitted date
2017-01-23
Closed date
2017-03-24
Last modified date
2017-03-24
APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:
APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:
Fix information
Fixed component name
BPM STANDARD
Fixed component ID
5725C9500
Applicable component levels
[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU059","label":"IBM Software w\/o TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SSFTDH","label":"IBM Business Process Manager Standard"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"857","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}}]
Document Information
Modified date:
04 September 2023