IBM Concert Under Attack? Understanding CVE-2025-36149 Clickjacking Vulnerability

Overview

CVE-2025-36149 is a medium severity security vulnerability affecting IBM Concert Software versions 1.0.0 through 2.0.0. This vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a clickjacking attack, potentially hijacking the clicking actions of a victim user. This blog post provides a detailed analysis of the vulnerability, its potential impact, and recommended mitigation steps.

Technical Details

The vulnerability stems from a lack of proper protection against clickjacking techniques within the IBM Concert Software interface. An attacker can exploit this by overlaying malicious content on top of legitimate elements of the IBM Concert application. Unsuspecting users, believing they are interacting with the legitimate interface, may unknowingly perform actions dictated by the attacker. The specific mechanisms used can vary, but typically involve iframes or other HTML manipulation techniques to conceal the malicious overlay.

CVSS Analysis

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) v3 score for CVE-2025-36149 is 6.3 (Medium).

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N)
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L)
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N)
• User Interaction (UI): Required (R)
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U)
• Confidentiality Impact (C): None (N)
• Integrity Impact (I): Low (L)
• Availability Impact (A): None (N)

The medium severity reflects the need for user interaction to successfully exploit the vulnerability, and the limited impact on confidentiality and availability.

Possible Impact

A successful clickjacking attack exploiting CVE-2025-36149 could lead to various consequences, including:

• Unauthorized actions: An attacker might trick a user into performing actions within IBM Concert that they wouldn’t normally take, such as changing settings, approving requests, or initiating processes.
• Data manipulation: In some cases, the attacker might be able to manipulate data within the application, depending on the user’s permissions and the available actions.
• Phishing attacks: Clickjacking can be combined with phishing techniques to steal user credentials or sensitive information.

Mitigation and Patch Steps

To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-36149, IBM recommends the following:

1. Upgrade to a patched version: Apply the security patch released by IBM that addresses this clickjacking vulnerability. Check the IBM support page (linked below) for the latest updates and instructions.
2. Implement X-Frame-Options or Content-Security-Policy (CSP) headers: Configure your web server to send appropriate X-Frame-Options or Content-Security-Policy headers to prevent the IBM Concert application from being framed by malicious websites. This is a crucial defense-in-depth measure. For example, using X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN or a restrictive CSP rule can help.
3. User Awareness Training: Educate users about the risks of clickjacking and encourage them to be cautious when clicking on links or interacting with web pages from untrusted sources.

References

• CVE: CVE-2025-36149
• IBM Security Bulletin: IBM Support Page