CVE-2024-56473
📋 TL;DR
IBM Aspera Shares versions 1.9.0 through 1.10.0 PL6 improperly validate 'Client-IP' headers, allowing attackers to spoof their IP addresses in log files. This affects organizations using these versions of IBM Aspera Shares for file transfer and collaboration. The vulnerability enables log manipulation but doesn't directly compromise system security.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Aspera Shares
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could spoof IP addresses in logs to hide their true origin, potentially enabling follow-on attacks by obscuring forensic evidence and attribution.
Likely Case
Log file manipulation where attackers appear to originate from different IP addresses, complicating incident response and forensic investigations.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper log validation and correlation controls in place, as this doesn't directly affect system functionality or data access.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending specially crafted HTTP headers but doesn't require authentication.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply IBM Aspera Shares 1.10.0 PL7 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7182490
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download IBM Aspera Shares 1.10.0 PL7 or later from IBM Fix Central. 2. Backup current configuration and data. 3. Stop Aspera Shares service. 4. Apply the update following IBM's installation guide. 5. Restart the service and verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Reverse Proxy IP Validation
allConfigure a reverse proxy or load balancer to strip or validate Client-IP headers before they reach Aspera Shares
# Configure nginx: proxy_set_header Client-IP $remote_addr;
# Configure Apache: RequestHeader set Client-IP %{REMOTE_ADDR}e
Log Correlation Controls
allImplement log correlation systems that validate IP consistency across multiple log sources
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level IP validation using WAF or reverse proxy to strip untrusted Client-IP headers
- Enhance log monitoring to detect IP spoofing patterns and correlate with other authentication logs
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Aspera Shares version via admin interface or configuration files. If version is between 1.9.0 and 1.10.0 PL6 inclusive, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check Aspera Shares web interface or configuration files for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 1.10.0 PL7 or later. Test by sending requests with spoofed Client-IP headers and confirming logs show actual source IP.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Mismatch between actual source IP and logged Client-IP in Aspera Shares logs
- Multiple user sessions from widely varying IP addresses in short timeframes
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing Client-IP headers that don't match actual source IP
SIEM Query:
source="aspera_shares" AND (client_ip != src_ip)