Security Bulletin: Apache log4j Vulnerability Affects IBM Sterling Global Mailbox (CVE-2021-44228)

Security Bulletin

Summary

IBM Sterling Global Mailbox uses Apache Log4j and is impacted by CVE-2021-44228. Mitigation steps have been confirmed. Final remediation images pending.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID: CVE-2021-44228
DESCRIPTION: Apache Log4j could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by the failure to protect against attacker controlled LDAP and other JNDI related endpoints by JNDI features. By sending a specially crafted code string, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to load arbitrary Java code on the server and take complete control of the system. Note: The vulnerability is also called Log4Shell or LogJam.
CVSS Base score: 10
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/214921 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

Affected Product(s)	Version(s)
IBM Global High Availability Mailbox	6.0.3-6.1.1.0

Remediation/Fixes

Product Version	Remediation & Fix
6.0.3-6.1.1.0	Download IBM Sterling B2B Integrator IIM version 6.0.3.5_1, 6.1.0.4_1 , 6.1.1.0_1, 6.0.2.3._1 or 6.0.1.2_1 on Fix Central Then apply the fix for global mailbox

Workarounds and Mitigations

Strongly recommend implementing the following mitigation.

The following instruction applies to the Global Mailbox Liberty server (mailboxui) -

1) Stop Global Mailbox Liberty server.

2) Edit <Install Directory>/wlp/usr/servers/mailboxui/bootstrap.properties file

3) Add the following property on new line -

log4j2.formatMsgNoLookups=true

4) Start Global Mailbox liberty server.

The following instruction applies to the Global Mailbox WatchDog component -

1) Stop WatchDog by running stopGMCoordinateWatchdog.sh script from folder <Global Mailbox Install Dir>/MailboxUtilities/bin

2) Edit startWatchDog.sh file from folder <Zookeeper Install Dir>/watchdog/bin

3) Looks for "nohup ${JAVA_EXEC}" command and additional JVM parameter in this command.

eg. nohup ${JAVA_EXEC} -Dwatchdog.properties.file=${WATCHDOG_PROPERTIES_FILE} -Djava.util.logging.config.file=./../conf/watchdog.logging.properties -Dlog4j2.formatMsgNoLookups=true -classpath "${WATCHDOG_JARS_DIR}/*" com.ibm.mailbox.zkwatchdog.ZKWatchDogMain "$@" > "$WATCHDOG_OUT_FILE" 2>&1 < /dev/null &

4) Save the file and start WatchDog by running startGMCoordinateWatchdog.sh script from folder <Global Mailbox Install Dir>/MailboxUtilities/bin

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References

Complete CVSS v3 Guide
On-line Calculator v3

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Acknowledgement

Change History

16 Dec 2021: Initial Publication

*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.

Document Location

Worldwide

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Tips

Security Bulletin: Apache log4j Vulnerability Affects IBM Sterling Global Mailbox (CVE-2021-44228)