Security Bulletin: Vulnerability in RC4 stream cipher affects IBM Netcool/Reporter (CVE-2015-2808)

Summary

The RC4 “Bar Mitzvah” Attack for SSL/TLS affects IBM Netcool/Reporter.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID: 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 https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/101851 for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N)

Affected Products and Versions

IBM Netcool/Reporter 2.2

Remediation/Fixes

You must upgrade your current version of the Netcool/Reporter provided Apache 2.2.22 to include the updated OpenSSL (1.0.1m) which is available from Fix Central via Tivoli Netcool Reporter 2.2.0.9 IF0005, 2.2.0.9-TIV-NCReporter-IF0005.

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

To disable RC4 in the supplied Apache HTTPD server, in the http-ssl.conf file, located under $APACHE_HOME/conf/ or %APACHE_HOME%\conf, locate the following line:

SSLCipherSuite ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:AES128-GCM-SHA256:HIGH:!MD5:!aNULL:!EDH

…and add the following text to the end of the existing text:

:!RC4

You should verify applying this configuration change does not cause any compatibility issues. Not disabling the RC4 stream cipher 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.