CVE-2024-43180
📋 TL;DR
IBM Concert 1.0 fails to set the secure attribute on authorization tokens and session cookies, allowing attackers to intercept these cookies when users access HTTP links. This vulnerability enables session hijacking and unauthorized access to user accounts. All users of IBM Concert 1.0 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Concert
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain full administrative access to the IBM Concert system, compromising all user sessions and sensitive data.
Likely Case
Attackers hijack user sessions to access unauthorized information or perform actions as the compromised user.
If Mitigated
With HTTPS enforcement and proper network segmentation, risk is limited to internal attackers with network access.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires tricking users into clicking HTTP links or planting malicious links on websites they visit.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply fix as per IBM advisory
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7168234
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review IBM advisory at provided URL
2. Apply the recommended fix from IBM
3. Restart IBM Concert services
4. Verify secure attribute is set on all cookies
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enforce HTTPS Only
allConfigure web server to redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS and set HSTS headers
# Apache: Redirect HTTP to HTTPS in .htaccess or config
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
# Add HSTS header
Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains"
Web Application Firewall Rules
allConfigure WAF to block or flag HTTP requests containing session cookies
# Example ModSecurity rule
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@rx ^http://" \
"id:1001,phase:1,deny,status:403,msg:'HTTP request with session cookie detected'"
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deploy network monitoring to detect HTTP traffic containing session cookies
- Implement strict network segmentation to limit attack surface
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Use browser developer tools to inspect cookies - check if session/authorization cookies lack 'Secure' attribute when accessed via HTTPCheck Version:
Check IBM Concert version via administrative interface or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Verify cookies have 'Secure' attribute set and cannot be transmitted over HTTP connections📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing session cookie values
- Multiple failed authentication attempts from new IP addresses
Network Indicators:
- Unencrypted HTTP traffic containing Set-Cookie headers
- HTTP requests to sensitive endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri="http://*" AND cookie="*session*" OR cookie="*auth*")