IBM Support

Security Bulletin: Tivoli Storage Manager UNIX and Linux client encryption key password vulnerability (CVE-2014-4818)

Security Bulletin


Summary

A vulnerability in the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) UNIX and Linux clients would allow a local user to obtain the encryption key password.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID: CVE-2014-4818
DESCRIPTION:
IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Unix and Linux clients contain a vulnerability that would allow a local user to obtain the encryption key password used for backups and restores.

CVSS Base Score: 2.10
CVSS Temporal Score: See https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/95451 for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N)

Affected Products and Versions

UNIX and Linux clients in the following TSM versions and releases:

  • TSM 7.1.0.0 through 7.1.1.x
  • TSM 6.4.0.0 through 6.4.2.x
  • TSM 6.3 all versions
  • TSM 6.2 all versions
  • TSM 6.1 all versions
  • TSM 5.5 all versions
  • TSM 5.4 all versions

Remediation/Fixes

TSM
Release

First Fixing
VRMF Level		PlatformsAPARRemediation/First Fix
7.17.1.2AIX,
HP-UX Itanium,
Linux x86,
Linux pSeries,
Linux zSeries,
Macintosh,
Solaris x86,
Solaris SPARC		IT06016Apply the fix at this link:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24035122
or apply the workaround.
6.46.4.3AIX,
HP-UX Itanium,
Linux x86,
Linux pSeries,
Linux zSeries,
Macintosh,
Solaris SPARC		IT06016Apply the fix at this link:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24040185
or apply the workaround.
6.3, 6.2,
6.1, 5.5, and 5.4
AIX,
HP-UX,
Linux,
Macintosh,
Solaris
Upgrade to fixing release or apply the workaround.

Workarounds and Mitigations


    Step 1
    Create a user group (e.g., tsmusers) that includes all users that need to use the TSM UNIX or Linux client.

    Step 2
    Restrict access to the stored encryption key password by restricting access to the client Trusted Communications Agent (TCA) by using the user group created in Step 1.
    1. Use chgrp to change the ownership of dsmtca to include the tsmusers group.
      chgrp tsmusers dsmtca

    2. Use chmod to set the execute bit for the group so that anyone in the tsmusers group can run dsmtca.
      chmod 750 dsmtca

    3. Use chmod to set the SUID bit for dsmtca so that users in the group can run it with elevated privileges.
      chmod u+s dsmtca

    4. Verify that the group has the execute bit set for the dsmtca file using:
      type ls -l dsmtca

      The output from this command shows that the SUID bit (s) is set for dsmtca in the user field and that the execute bit (x) is set in the group field.
      -rwsr-x--- 1 root tsmusers 13327961 2011-05-19 08:34 dsmtca

Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins

Subscribe to My Notifications to be notified of important product support alerts like this.

References

Complete CVSS v2 Guide
On-line Calculator v2

Off

Related Information

IBM Secure Engineering Web Portal
IBM Product Security Incident Response Blog

Acknowledgement

The vulnerability was reported to IBM by Bartlomiej Balcerek from WCSS CSIRT

Change History

20 April 2015 - Updated to include Remediation/Fixes for 7.1
05 May 2015 - Updated Title, Summary, and Vulnerability Details to indicate UNIX and Linux clients only.
09 July 2015 - Updated Remediation/Fixes to add link to 6.4.3 fix.

*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.

Disclaimer

Review the IBM security bulletin disclaimer and definitions regarding your responsibilities for assessing potential impact of security vulnerabilities to your environment.

[{"Product":{"code":"SSGSG7","label":"Tivoli Storage Manager"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU058","label":"IBM Infrastructure w\/TPS"},"Component":"Client","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF014","label":"iOS"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"}],"Version":"5.4;5.5;6.1;6.2;6.3;6.4;7.1","Edition":"All Editions","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB26","label":"Storage"}},{"Product":{"code":"SSSQWC","label":"Tivoli Storage Manager Extended Edition"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU058","label":"IBM Infrastructure w\/TPS"},"Component":null,"Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF017","label":"Mac OS"}],"Version":"5.4;5.5;6.1;6.2;6.3;6.4;7.1","Edition":"All Editions","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB26","label":"Storage"}},{"Product":{"code":"SSAT9S","label":"IBM System Storage Archive Manager"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU054","label":"Systems w\/TPS"},"Component":null,"Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF017","label":"Mac OS"}],"Version":"6.2;6.3;6.4;7.1","Edition":"All Editions","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB26","label":"Storage"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
17 June 2018

UID

swg21697022

Page Feedback