Allaire Security Bulletin (ASB00-04) Patch Available for Allaire Spectra 1.0 Security Authentication System Originally Posted: January 31, 2000 Last Updated: January 31, 2000 Summary There is a security issue with the Spectra 1.0 Remote Access Service invoke.cfm template. Normally users must be authenticated in the webtop security context in order to even attempt to use the Remote Access Service. However, if the user passes a parameter called "bAuthenticated" via the URL, a form field, or a WDDX packet, and the user does not specify a username, a bug allows them to use the Remote Access Service even if they are not in the webtop user directory. Note that this does not pose a problem for secured resources, but it does defeat the extra layer of protection that prevents non-webtop users from using and altering unsecured resources. Issue There is a security issue with the Spectra 1.0 Remote Access Service invoke.cfm template. Normally users must be authenticated in the webtop security context in order to even attempt to use the Remote Access Service. However, if the user passes a parameter called "bAuthenticated" via the URL, a form field, or a WDDX packet, and the user does not specify a username, a bug allows them to use the Remote Access Service even if they are not in the webtop user directory. The issue directly related to certain variables within the authentication code not being set to proper values, allowing users to parse information through a URL string. The issue exists in the main Spectra Webtop application, the i-Build and the RestoreNet applications. Affected Software Versions · Allaire Spectra 1.0 What Allaire is Doing Allaire has published this bulletin notifying customers of the problem. Allaire has also released new authentication templates that will resolve the authentication bugs. These templates are available for download and inspection. Allaire also recommends that users install sample applications and documentation on secured development servers, and not on production servers. Download - SPECTRA 1.0 Security Authentication System Patches What Customers Should Do Customers should download and copy the new files into their respective directories, renaming them all to "invoke.cfm", overwriting the old invoke.cfm files. The following is a list of which template goes in which directory: File Location Rename To Replaces invoke_spectra.cfm {webroot}\allaire\spectra\ Invoke.cfm Invoke.cfm invoke_ibuild.cfm {webroot}\i-build\ Invoke.cfm Invoke.cfm invoke_restorenet.cfm {webroot}\allaire\spectra\restorenet\ Invoke.cfm Invoke.cfm Allaire strongly recommends that customers remove all documentation, sample code, example applications, and tutorials from production servers. The examples that are installed with Spectra are installed in the "{webroot}\ibuild", "{webroot}\allaire\spectra\restorenet" and the "{webroot}\allaire\spectra\docs" directories, which are normally installed in the root of the Web server directory. Access to the {webroot}\allaire\spectra\docs directory should be secured with Operating System and Web Server security on developer workstations. Customers should also closely monitor their production server web logs for browser HTTP requests attempting to access files in the "/allaire/spectra/docs", "/ibuild", and "/allaire/spectra/restorenet" directories as they would requests for files in the "/cfdocs" or "/cfide/administrator" directories, treating these requests as malicious reconnaissance probes by would-be attackers. Revisions January 31, 2000 -- Bulletin first created. Reporting Security Issues Allaire is committed to addressing security issues and providing customers with the information on how they can protect themselves. If you identify what you believe may be a security issue with an Allaire product, please send an email to secure@allaire.com. We will work to appropriately address and communicate the issue. Receiving Security Bulletins When Allaire becomes aware of a security issue that we believe significantly affects our products or customers, we will notify customers when appropriate. Typically this notification will be in the form of a security bulletin explaining the issue and the response. Allaire customers who would like to receive notification of new security bulletins when they are released can sign up for our security notification service. For additional information on security issues at Allaire, please visit the Security Zone at: http://www.allaire.com/security THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY ALLAIRE IN THIS BULLETIN IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. 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