CVE-2008-0186 in NetRisk
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in index.php in NetRisk 1.9.7 and possibly earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the page parameter, possibly related to CVE-2008-0144.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-0186 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the NetRisk application version 1.9.7 and potentially earlier releases. This security weakness resides in the index.php script where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to web browsers. The specific parameter affected is named 'page', which when manipulated by an attacker can introduce malicious code into the application's response. The vulnerability's classification as XSS aligns with CWE-79 which defines cross-site scripting as a code injection attack that occurs when an application includes untrusted data in a new web page without proper validation or escaping, allowing attackers to execute scripts in the victim's browser context.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability enables remote attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content through the page parameter, creating a persistent threat vector that can compromise user sessions and data integrity. When the application processes the malicious input without adequate sanitization, it renders the injected code directly into web pages served to legitimate users. This flaw can be leveraged to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of web content, or redirection to malicious sites. The relationship to CVE-2008-0144 suggests this represents part of a broader family of vulnerabilities affecting the NetRisk application's input handling mechanisms.
The operational impact of CVE-2008-0186 extends beyond simple data corruption as it fundamentally compromises the trust model between users and the application. Users who interact with the vulnerable NetRisk system may unknowingly execute malicious code that can capture their credentials, monitor their activities, or modify application behavior. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the target system. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on NetRisk for security monitoring and risk assessment, as compromised systems could provide attackers with access to sensitive security information and potentially enable further attacks within the network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The primary defense involves sanitizing all user-supplied input, particularly the page parameter, by implementing strict validation rules that reject or escape potentially dangerous characters. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls that can detect and block XSS attack patterns, while also ensuring that the application follows secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten. Regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other input parameters, and the system should be updated to the latest available version of NetRisk that addresses this flaw. Additionally, implementing content security policies can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded.