CVE-2016-0332
📋 TL;DR
IBM Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance versions 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.1.0 have insufficient login attempt restrictions, allowing remote attackers to perform brute-force attacks to gain unauthorized access. This affects organizations using these specific ISIM Virtual Appliance versions without the security fix.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance
📦 What is this software?
Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance by Ibm
View all CVEs affecting Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance →
Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance by Ibm
View all CVEs affecting Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance →
Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance by Ibm
View all CVEs affecting Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain administrative access to the identity management system, potentially compromising all managed accounts, credentials, and sensitive identity data.
Likely Case
Attackers gain unauthorized access to user accounts, potentially escalating privileges or accessing sensitive identity information.
If Mitigated
With proper controls like account lockouts and monitoring, impact is limited to temporary account lockouts and detectable brute-force attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Brute-force attacks are well-understood and easily automated. No authentication required to attempt login.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001
Vendor Advisory: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21981438
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download fix pack 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001 from IBM Fix Central. 2. Apply the fix pack following IBM's installation instructions. 3. Restart the ISIM Virtual Appliance.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Restriction
allRestrict network access to ISIM Virtual Appliance to trusted IP addresses only
Enhanced Monitoring
allImplement SIEM monitoring for failed login attempts and alert on brute-force patterns
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate ISIM Virtual Appliance from untrusted networks
- Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) with brute-force protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check ISIM Virtual Appliance version via admin console or SSH. If version is between 7.0.0.0 and 7.0.1.0 (excluding 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001), it's vulnerable.Check Version:
ssh admin@isim-appliance 'cat /opt/IBM/isim/version.txt' or check via ISIM admin web interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001 or later. Test login attempt restrictions by attempting multiple failed logins.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts from same IP address
- Rapid succession login failures
- Login attempts with common username patterns
Network Indicators:
- High volume of HTTP POST requests to login endpoints
- Traffic patterns showing systematic credential testing
SIEM Query:
source="isim.log" AND ("Login failed" OR "authentication failure") | stats count by src_ip, user | where count > 10