Overview
CVE-2025-36153 is a medium severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting IBM Concert versions 1.0.0 through 2.0.0. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into the application’s web interface. Successful exploitation could lead to the execution of malicious scripts within the context of a user’s session, potentially resulting in credential theft, data manipulation, or other unauthorized actions.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides in the lack of proper input sanitization and output encoding within the IBM Concert web UI. Specifically, an unauthenticated attacker can inject malicious JavaScript code through a susceptible input field or URL parameter. When a user interacts with the crafted input or URL, the injected JavaScript code is executed in their browser. This allows the attacker to potentially:
- Steal session cookies, leading to account takeover.
- Redirect users to phishing websites.
- Modify the content of the web page displayed to the user.
- Perform actions on behalf of the user.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) assigns CVE-2025-36153 a score of 6.1, indicating a MEDIUM severity vulnerability. This score reflects the following characteristics:
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (N)
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L)
- Privileges Required (PR): None (N)
- User Interaction (UI): Required (R)
- Scope (S): Changed (C)
- Confidentiality Impact (C): Low (L)
- Integrity Impact (I): Low (L)
- Availability Impact (A): None (N)
The CVSS score considers the vulnerability’s ease of exploitation, the requirement for user interaction, and the potential impact on confidentiality and integrity.
Possible Impact
The exploitation of CVE-2025-36153 can have significant consequences:
- Credential Disclosure: An attacker could steal user credentials, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems.
- Data Manipulation: Malicious scripts could modify data within the application, compromising data integrity.
- Phishing Attacks: Users could be redirected to fake login pages or other phishing websites, further increasing the risk of credential theft.
- Reputation Damage: A successful attack could damage the reputation of the organization using IBM Concert.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-36153, IBM recommends the following steps:
- Apply the Latest Security Patch: Upgrade IBM Concert to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Consult the official IBM security advisory for specific patch information.
- Input Sanitization: Ensure that all user-supplied input is properly sanitized to remove or encode potentially malicious characters.
- Output Encoding: Encode all data before it is displayed in the web UI to prevent the browser from interpreting it as executable code.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Implement a Web Application Firewall to detect and block XSS attacks.
