CVE-2005-4830 in viewcvs
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in viewcvs in ViewCVS 0.9.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via CRLF sequences in the content-type parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2019
The CVE-2005-4830 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting and response splitting flaw within ViewCVS version 0.9.2 that exploits improper input validation mechanisms. This vulnerability specifically targets the content-type parameter handling within the web application, allowing malicious actors to inject carriage return line feed sequences that can manipulate HTTP headers. The flaw resides in the application's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into HTTP response headers, creating a pathway for attackers to inject arbitrary headers and manipulate the HTTP response structure. Such vulnerabilities fall under the broader category of CWE-113, which addresses improper neutralization of CRLF sequences in HTTP headers, making them particularly dangerous in web application contexts where header manipulation can lead to various security breaches.
The technical execution of this vulnerability involves crafting malicious input containing CRLF characters within the content-type parameter that is processed by ViewCVS. When the application processes this input without adequate sanitization, the injected sequences can cause the web server to interpret subsequent data as additional HTTP headers rather than response content. This creates a scenario where attackers can inject malicious headers such as Set-Cookie, Location, or other HTTP response headers that can redirect users to malicious sites or inject session cookies. The vulnerability operates at the HTTP protocol level, making it particularly effective for conducting HTTP response splitting attacks that can bypass security controls and enable various forms of session hijacking or cross-site scripting exploitation.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-4830 extends beyond simple header injection, as it provides attackers with capabilities to perform sophisticated attacks against users interacting with the vulnerable ViewCVS instance. Through HTTP response splitting, attackers can create multiple HTTP responses from a single request, potentially allowing them to inject malicious content that gets cached by proxies or browsers, or manipulate the user's browsing experience through redirects. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations using ViewCVS for version control browsing, where the application serves as an interface for accessing repository contents. This creates a vector for attackers to compromise not just the web interface but potentially gain insights into source code repositories, which could lead to further exploitation opportunities. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190, which covers exploitation of vulnerabilities in web applications, specifically targeting the manipulation of HTTP responses to achieve malicious objectives.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the ViewCVS application to version 0.9.3 or later, which contains the necessary input validation fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input sanitization measures that filter or escape CRLF characters from all user-supplied parameters before processing them within HTTP headers. The solution approach should include proper encoding of HTTP header values and validation of content-type parameters to ensure they conform to expected formats. Additionally, web application firewalls should be configured to detect and block suspicious CRLF sequences in HTTP headers, while network monitoring systems should be enhanced to identify potential HTTP response splitting attempts. Security teams should also implement regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar input validation flaws in other web applications, as the underlying issue of insufficient input sanitization in HTTP headers represents a common pattern that can affect numerous web applications and frameworks beyond ViewCVS.