CVE-2025-36149: IBM Concert CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-36149 Overview

CVE-2025-36149 is a clickjacking vulnerability affecting IBM Concert Software versions 1.0.0 through 2.0.0. A remote attacker can hijack the clicking action of a victim user by embedding the application within a malicious frame. The weakness is classified as [CWE-1021] Improper Restriction of Rendered UI Layers or Frames. Successful exploitation requires user interaction and low-privilege access, and can result in limited confidentiality and integrity impact. IBM has published a security advisory documenting the affected versions and remediation guidance.

Critical Impact
A remote attacker can trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions in IBM Concert by overlaying the interface within an attacker-controlled frame.

Affected Products

IBM Concert Software 1.0.0
IBM Concert Software versions between 1.0.0 and 2.0.0
IBM Concert Software 2.0.0

Discovery Timeline

2025-11-21 - CVE-2025-36149 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-36149

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a UI redress attack, commonly known as clickjacking. IBM Concert Software fails to properly restrict how its pages can be rendered inside frames or iframes controlled by third-party sites. An attacker who hosts a malicious page can embed the Concert interface as a transparent or disguised overlay. Victims who are authenticated to Concert and visit the attacker page can be induced to click UI elements that trigger unintended actions inside the application.

The issue maps to [CWE-1021], which covers missing or misconfigured framing protections. The scope is marked as changed because actions initiated in the attacker frame affect a different security context, namely the victim's authenticated Concert session.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence or misconfiguration of framing controls on server responses. Applications typically prevent clickjacking by setting an X-Frame-Options header or a Content-Security-Policy header with a frame-ancestors directive. Without these controls, browsers permit arbitrary origins to embed Concert pages, allowing overlay-based UI manipulation.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an authenticated Concert user to visit an attacker-controlled web page. The attacker embeds Concert in a hidden iframe and overlays it with decoy content. When the victim interacts with the visible page, the click is delivered to the underlying Concert UI. Because the victim's session cookies are attached to the framed request, the action executes with the victim's privileges. The vulnerability is network-reachable, has low attack complexity, and depends on user interaction.

No public proof-of-concept, exploit code, or CISA KEV listing exists for this issue at time of publication. See the IBM Support Page for Advisory for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-36149

Indicators of Compromise

Referer headers on Concert requests originating from unexpected external domains.
Concert audit logs showing user actions inconsistent with the user's known workflow or session activity.
Browser telemetry indicating Concert pages rendered inside iframes hosted by third-party origins.

Detection Strategies

Inspect HTTP responses from Concert for the presence and correctness of X-Frame-Options and Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors headers.
Correlate web proxy or CDN logs to identify external sites embedding Concert URLs.
Review authentication and application logs for state-changing actions that lack a plausible in-app navigation path.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on Concert responses missing framing protection headers after patching.
Monitor outbound user traffic for referrers to Concert paths from unknown domains.
Track anomalous click-driven actions in Concert audit logs, focusing on privileged or destructive operations.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-36149

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fix documented in the IBM Support Page for Advisory for IBM Concert Software 1.0.0 through 2.0.0.
Instruct Concert users to log out of active sessions when not in use and avoid clicking untrusted external links.
Enforce browser-level protections and up-to-date browsers across the user base to reduce framing attack surface.

Patch Information

IBM has issued a security bulletin covering CVE-2025-36149. Administrators should follow the version guidance on the IBM Support Page for Advisory and upgrade all instances of IBM Concert Software in the 1.0.0 through 2.0.0 range to the fixed release identified by IBM.

Workarounds

Deploy a reverse proxy or web application firewall rule that injects X-Frame-Options: DENY or Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'none' on Concert responses.
Restrict access to Concert to trusted networks or VPN-bound clients to limit exposure to drive-by clickjacking pages.
Enable SameSite cookie attributes on session cookies to reduce the effectiveness of cross-site framed requests.

bash

# Example reverse-proxy header hardening (nginx)
add_header X-Frame-Options "DENY" always;
add_header Content-Security-Policy "frame-ancestors 'none';" always;