CVE-2005-3971 in NFuse
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the login form in Citrix MetaFrame Secure Access Manager 2.0 through 2.2 and NFuse Elite 1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the username field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3971 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting Citrix MetaFrame Secure Access Manager versions 2.0 through 2.2 and NFuse Elite 1.0 products. This vulnerability specifically targets the login form implementation where user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being processed and rendered back to the client. The flaw exists in the username field handling mechanism, which fails to adequately escape or filter special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code by web browsers. This creates an opportunity for remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of authenticated sessions or victim browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized access to protected resources.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into web page content without proper validation or encoding. The attack vector involves an attacker submitting malicious input through the username field during the authentication process, which then gets reflected back to other users or stored in a way that executes the injected code when the page is rendered. This particular implementation weakness demonstrates poor input validation practices and highlights the importance of proper output encoding in web applications. The vulnerability affects the authentication mechanism itself, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited during the most critical phase of system access control.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable sophisticated attack chains that leverage the compromised authentication context. Attackers could potentially inject malicious scripts that steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability affects enterprise access management systems where the secure authentication process is fundamental to overall security posture, making it a high-value target for threat actors. The exposure of this flaw in widely deployed access management solutions increases the potential attack surface significantly, particularly in environments where these products are used for controlling access to sensitive corporate resources and applications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate implementation of input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent the injection of malicious content into the username field. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls and input sanitization measures that can detect and block suspicious patterns in authentication form submissions. The recommended approach involves implementing proper HTML entity encoding for all user-supplied input before rendering it back to the browser, which directly addresses the CWE-79 classification. Additionally, regular security updates and patches from Citrix should be applied immediately, as this vulnerability was likely addressed in subsequent releases. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive penetration testing to identify similar input validation issues in other authentication mechanisms and implement defense-in-depth strategies that include monitoring for anomalous authentication patterns and user behavior analysis to detect potential exploitation attempts.