Security Bulletin: Vulnerability in RC4 stream cipher affects IBM BladeCenter Switches (CVE-2015-2808)

Summary

The RC4 “Bar Mitzvah” Attack for SSL/TLS affects IBM BladeCenter Switches.

Vulnerability Details

Summary

The RC4 “Bar Mitzvah” Attack for SSL/TLS affects IBM BladeCenter Switches.

Vulnerability Details

CVE-ID: CVE-2015-2808

Description: The RC4 algorithm, as used in the TLS protocol and SSL protocol, could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to remotely expose account credentials without requiring an active man-in-the-middle session. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to retrieve credit card data or other sensitive information. This vulnerability is commonly referred to as “Bar Mitzvah Attack”.

CVSS Base Score: 5
CVSS Temporal Score: See <http://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/101851&gt; for current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N)

Affected products and versions

Refer also to The following IBM Systems products are not affected by the vulnerability in RC4 stream cipher (CVE-2015-2808) Flash (Alert) in Related Information.

Remediation/Fixes

Firmware fix versions are available on Fix Central: <http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/&gt;.

You should verify applying this fix does not cause any compatibility issues. The fix disables RC4 stream cipher by default. If you change the default setting after applying the fix, you will expose yourself to the attack described above. IBM recommends that you review your entire environment to identify other areas where you have enabled the RC4 stream cipher and take appropriate mitigation and remediation actions.

Workarounds and Mitigations

None.

Reference

• Complete CVSS Guide
• On-line Calculator V2

Related Information
FLASH (Alert) IBM Systems products not affected by RC4 stream cipher
IBM Secure Engineering Web Portal
IBM Product Security Incident Response Blog

Acknowledgement

None.

Change History
15 June 2015: Original Copy Published

• The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.

Disclaimer

According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an “industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response.” IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY.