CVE-2024-49794: IBM ApplinX CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49794 Overview

CVE-2024-49794 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM ApplinX 11.1.0. The flaw allows an attacker to trick an authenticated user into submitting unauthorized requests that the application processes as legitimate. Because ApplinX trusts the user's authenticated session, malicious requests transmitted from an attacker-controlled page can perform state-changing actions on behalf of the victim. The weakness is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery.

Critical Impact
An attacker can execute unauthorized actions in the context of an authenticated ApplinX user by luring them to a crafted web page, potentially modifying application data or configuration.

Affected Products

IBM ApplinX 11.1.0
Deployments exposing the ApplinX administration or user interface to browser sessions
Environments where administrators access ApplinX through the same browser used for general web browsing

Discovery Timeline

2025-02-06 - CVE-2024-49794 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-49794

Vulnerability Analysis

IBM ApplinX 11.1.0 does not sufficiently validate the origin or intent of state-changing HTTP requests submitted to the application. When an authenticated user visits a malicious page, that page can issue cross-origin requests to the ApplinX server. The browser automatically attaches the user's session cookies, and the server processes the request as if the user intentionally issued it.

The advisory scope indicates the vulnerability impacts integrity without disclosing data or affecting availability. Exploitation requires user interaction, typically clicking a link or loading attacker-controlled content while authenticated to ApplinX.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient anti-CSRF protections on state-changing endpoints. Web applications typically defend against CSRF using synchronizer tokens, SameSite cookie attributes, or verification of the Origin and Referer headers. When these controls are absent or improperly enforced, any cross-origin request carrying valid session credentials is honored.

Attack Vector

The attack proceeds over the network and requires the victim to be authenticated to IBM ApplinX. An attacker crafts an HTML page containing an auto-submitting form, image tag, or JavaScript that targets an ApplinX endpoint. When the victim loads the page, the browser sends the request with session cookies attached, and the server executes the action. No credentials or privileges are required from the attacker directly. Refer to the IBM Support Page for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-49794

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected state-changing requests to ApplinX endpoints originating from external Referer headers
Administrative or configuration actions logged during user sessions that do not match user activity patterns
HTTP POST requests to ApplinX with Origin headers pointing to untrusted domains

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server and reverse proxy logs for ApplinX requests where the Referer or Origin header is absent or points to a non-ApplinX domain
Correlate application audit logs with user browsing telemetry to identify actions the user did not intentionally perform
Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag cross-origin POST requests lacking valid CSRF tokens

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose audit logging inside ApplinX for configuration and administrative endpoints
Forward web server access logs to a centralized SIEM for anomaly analysis on request origins
Alert on repeated requests to sensitive ApplinX endpoints that arrive without expected session workflow context

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-49794

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fix referenced in the IBM Support Page for CVE-2024-49794
Restrict access to the ApplinX administration interface to trusted network segments
Instruct administrators to use a dedicated browser or profile for ApplinX sessions and to log out when finished

Patch Information

IBM has published remediation guidance on the IBM Support Page. Review the advisory and apply the specified interim fix or upgrade path for IBM ApplinX 11.1.0. Confirm that the fix is deployed to all ApplinX instances, including staging and disaster-recovery environments.

Workarounds

Configure session cookies with SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax where supported by the deployment
Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF rule that requires matching Origin or Referer headers for state-changing requests to ApplinX
Reduce session lifetimes and enforce re-authentication for sensitive administrative operations

bash

# Example reverse proxy rule (nginx) enforcing Origin validation
# for state-changing requests to ApplinX
location /applinx/ {
    if ($request_method = POST) {
        set $bad_origin 1;
        if ($http_origin ~* "^https://applinx\.example\.com$") {
            set $bad_origin 0;
        }
        if ($bad_origin) {
            return 403;
        }
    }
    proxy_pass http://applinx_backend;
}