CVE-2025-36161
📋 TL;DR
IBM Concert versions 1.0.0 through 2.0.0 fail to properly enable HTTP Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS), allowing man-in-the-middle attackers to intercept and potentially read sensitive information transmitted over HTTP. This affects all deployments of IBM Concert within the vulnerable version range that handle sensitive data.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Concert
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers intercept authentication credentials, session tokens, or other sensitive data, leading to account compromise, data theft, or unauthorized access to protected resources.
Likely Case
Attackers on the same network capture unencrypted traffic containing session cookies or user data, enabling session hijacking or information disclosure.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and monitoring, impact is limited to potential interception of non-critical data in controlled environments.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires man-in-the-middle position; tools like SSLStrip can automate attacks.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: IBM Concert 2.0.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7252019
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download IBM Concert 2.0.1 or later from IBM support. 2. Backup current installation. 3. Install the updated version following IBM documentation. 4. Restart the IBM Concert service.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enable HSTS via Configuration
allManually configure HSTS headers in IBM Concert's web server configuration to enforce HTTPS.
Add 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains' to HTTP response headers
Reverse Proxy with HSTS
linuxPlace a reverse proxy (e.g., nginx, Apache) in front of IBM Concert with HSTS enabled.
nginx config: add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
Apache config: Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains"
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Enforce HTTPS-only access via network policies and disable HTTP traffic.
- Implement network segmentation to isolate IBM Concert from untrusted networks.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Use curl or browser developer tools to check HTTP responses for missing 'Strict-Transport-Security' header when accessing IBM Concert over HTTP.Check Version:
Check IBM Concert admin interface or consult installation documentation for version information.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify that HTTP responses include 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains' header and HTTP requests are redirected to HTTPS.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual HTTP traffic patterns, failed HTTPS redirects, or unexpected HTTP requests to sensitive endpoints.
Network Indicators:
- Man-in-the-middle tools like SSLStrip detected in network traffic, or unencrypted HTTP traffic to IBM Concert containing sensitive data.
SIEM Query:
source="ibm_concert_logs" AND (http_method="POST" OR http_method="GET") AND protocol="HTTP" AND uri CONTAINS "/login" OR uri CONTAINS "/api"