Security Bulletin: Vulnerability in Apache MyFaces affects WebSphere Application Server (CVE-2021-26296)

Summary

There is a vulnerability in the Apache MyFaces library used by WebSphere Application Server. This has been addressed.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:CVE-2021-26296
**DESCRIPTION:**Apache MyFaces is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery, caused by improper validation of user-supplied input. By persuading an authenticated user to visit a malicious Web site, a remote attacker could send a malformed HTTP request to perform unauthorized actions. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to perform cross-site scripting attacks, Web cache poisoning, and other malicious activities.
CVSS Base score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/197017 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

Remediation/Fixes

The recommended solution is to apply the interim fix, Fix Pack or PTF containing the APAR for each named product as soon as practical.

**For WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 - 21.0.0.3 using the jsf-2.0, jsf-2.2 or jsf-2.3 feature: **

· Upgrade to minimal fix pack levels as required by interim fix and then apply Interim Fix PH34711
--OR–
· Apply Fix Pack 21.0.0.4 or later (targeted availability 2Q2021).

For WebSphere Application Server traditional and WebSphere Application Server Hypervisor Edition:

For V9.0.0.0 through 9.0.5.7:
· Upgrade to minimal fix pack levels as required by interim fix and then apply Interim Fix PH34711
--OR–
· Apply Fix Pack 9.0.5.8 or later (targeted availability 2Q2021).

For V8.5.0.0 through 8.5.5.19:
· Upgrade to minimal fix pack levels as required by interim fix and then apply Interim Fix PH34711
--OR–
· Apply Fix Pack 8.5.5.20 or later (targeted availability 3Q2021).

For V8.0.0.0 through 8.0.0.15:
· Upgrade to 8.0.0.15 and then apply Interim Fix PH34711

Additional interim fixes may be available and linked off the interim fix download page.

WebSphere Application Server V8.0 is no longer in full support; IBM recommends upgrading to a fixed, supported version/release/platform of the product.

Workarounds and Mitigations

For WebSphere Application Server Liberty with features jsf-2.2 and jsf-2.3 and WebSphere Application Server version 9.0 using Java Server Faces (JSF), a workaround can be applied to prevent the vulnerability.

For WebSphere Application Server v9.0, configure the web.xml context parameters “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_VIEW_STATE_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom” and “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_CSRF_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom”.

For WebSphere Application Server Liberty with the jsf-2.2 feature, configure the web.xml context parameters “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_VIEW_STATE_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom” and “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_CSRF_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom”.

For WebSphere Application Server Liberty with the jsf-2.3 feature, configure the web.xml context parameters “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_VIEW_STATE_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom”, “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_CSRF_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom”, and “org.apache.myfaces.RANDOM_KEY_IN_WEBSOCKET_SESSION_TOKEN=secureRandom”.

There are no local fixes for users of JSF on WebSphere Application Server v8.0, WebSphere Application Server v8.5.5, or WebSphere Application Server Liberty with the jsf-2.0 feature.