CVE-2022-22452
📋 TL;DR
IBM Security Verify Identity Manager 10.0 has an inadequate account lockout setting that allows attackers to perform brute force attacks against user credentials. This affects organizations using IBM Security Verify Identity Manager 10.0 without proper account lockout configurations. Attackers can potentially gain unauthorized access to user accounts through repeated login attempts.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Security Verify Identity Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain administrative access to the identity management system, compromising all managed accounts and credentials, leading to complete system takeover and data breach.
Likely Case
Attackers compromise standard user accounts through automated brute force attacks, gaining access to sensitive systems and data protected by those credentials.
If Mitigated
With proper account lockout policies, failed login attempts trigger account lockouts, preventing successful brute force attacks and limiting exposure.
🎯 Exploit Status
Brute force attacks are well-understood and easily automated, making exploitation straightforward for attackers.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply fix as specified in IBM advisory
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6603405
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review IBM advisory at provided URL. 2. Apply the recommended configuration changes to strengthen account lockout settings. 3. Restart IBM Security Verify Identity Manager services. 4. Verify the new settings are active.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Strengthen Account Lockout Policy
allManually configure stricter account lockout thresholds and durations to prevent brute force attacks
Configure via IBM Security Verify Identity Manager administration console: Set maximum failed attempts to 5-10, lockout duration to 15-30 minutes
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level rate limiting for authentication requests
- Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) with brute force protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check current account lockout settings in IBM Security Verify Identity Manager administration console. If lockout thresholds are too high or durations too short, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check product version in IBM Security Verify Identity Manager administration interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
Verify new account lockout settings are applied by testing with failed login attempts and confirming lockout triggers appropriately.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed authentication attempts from single IP address
- Account lockout events followed by successful login from same IP
- Unusual authentication patterns outside business hours
Network Indicators:
- High volume of POST requests to authentication endpoints
- Traffic patterns showing systematic login attempts
SIEM Query:
source="ibm_verify_logs" AND (event_type="authentication_failure" OR event_type="account_lockout") | stats count by src_ip, user | where count > 10