Security Bulletin: Vulnerability in SSLv3 affects Tivoli Access Manager for e-business and Security Access Manager for Web (CVE-2014-3566)

Summary

SSLv3 contains a vulnerability that has been referred to as the Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption (POODLE) attack. SSLv3 is enabled in IBM Tivoli Access Manager for e-business and IBM Security Access Manager for Web.

Vulnerability Details

CVE-ID: CVE-2014-3566

DESCRIPTION: Various components of IBM Tivoli Access Manager for e-business and IBM Security Access Manager for Web could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by a design error when using the SSLv3 protocol. A remote user with the ability to conduct a man-in-the-middle attack could exploit this vulnerability via a POODLE (Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption) attack to decrypt SSL sessions and access the plaintext of encrypted connections.

CVSS Base Score: 4.3
CVSS Temporal Score: See https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/97013 for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N)

Affected Products and Versions

Tivoli Access Manager for e-business versions: 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 6.1.1
IBM Security Access Manager for Web versions: 7.0, 8.0, both software and appliance, all firmware versions.

Remediation/Fixes

None

Workarounds and Mitigations

IBM Tivoli Access Manager for e-business and IBM Security Access Manager for Web support several SSL interfaces. These range from interfaces that handle high volume Internet based traffic to those that handle low volume server traffic across the Local Area Network. This document provides instructions for disabling SSLv3 for those interfaces that are used for high-volume data transfers across the Internet. It also provides general suggestions for mitigating the risk of POODLE attacks.

Disable SSLv3 support in the Reverse Proxy (WebSEAL)
Follow these steps for every WebSEAL instance in your environment:

1. Edit the configuration file for each instance of WebSEAL

For software versions, edit the file located at the following path in the file system:
/opt/pdweb/etc/webseald-<instance-name>.conf (UNIX)
<pdweb install location_>/etc/webseald-<instance-name>_.conf (Windows)

For appliance versions, edit the file through the LMI:

1. Select ‘Secure Web Settings -> Reverse Proxy’ from the menu bar
2. Select the WebSEAL instance
3. Select ‘Manage -> Configuration -> Edit Configuration File’ from the menu

2. Make the following two changes in the configuration file

1. In the [ssl] stanza, set
   disable-ssl-v3=yes
2. In the [junction] stanza, set
   disable-ssl-v3=yes

3. After saving the changes, restart the WebSEAL instance.
Disable SSLv3 support in the Front End Load Balancer (appliance versions only)
Follow these steps for every IBM Security Access Manager for Web appliance in your environment:

1. Login to the Local Management Interface as an administrator
2. From Manage System Settings, choose Network Settings, then Front End Load Balancer
3. Ensure that the checkbox next to “Enable SSL Proxy for Layer-7” is not checked
4. If it is checked, uncheck it, then save and deploy the changes

General practices for reducing risk
The following practices may help reduce the risk of POODLE-based attacks in your IBM Security Access Manager environment.

* Ensure that all communication between IBM Security Access Manager servers and IBM Security Access Manager client components such as pdadmin and authorization API applications takes place over trusted networks.
*     * Secure all components and endpoints behind properly configured firewalls. 
*     * Disable SSLv3 support on all browser clients used for web-based administrative operations such as those supported by the Local Manager Interface and only run such clients within the trusted network.
*     * Disable SSLv3 support for other leveraged components in the IBM Security Access Manager environment such as LDAP servers and protected Web applications.

IMPORTANT: IBM recommends that you review your entire environment to identify areas that enable the SSLv3 protocol and take appropriate mitigation and remediation actions. The most immediate mitigation action that can be taken is disabling SSLv3. You should verify disabling SSLv3 does not cause any compatibility issues.