IBM InfoSphere BigInsights Invalid Input

CVE-2013-3993 is a low-severity improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability in Infosphere Biginsights from IBM, with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 3.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 2.1.0.3 as the first without the flaw, so updating Infosphere Biginsights to that release or later removes the exposure. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 25, 2022, which means attacks have been observed in the wild, including in ransomware campaigns.

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

• For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
• Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
• Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.

More Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities (CWE-22)