CVE-2008-0578 in Tripwire Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the web management login page in Tripwire Enterprise 7.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/03/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-0578 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the web management login interface of Tripwire Enterprise 7.0, a network security monitoring and compliance solution widely deployed in enterprise environments. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The affected component specifically targets the authentication interface, making it particularly dangerous as it could potentially compromise user credentials and system access controls.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Tripwire Enterprise 7.0 web management console. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that are executed in the context of authenticated users' browsers when they access the compromised login page. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple input points within the login interface may be susceptible to injection attacks, potentially including username fields, password fields, or other authentication parameters. This lack of specificity in the vulnerability description indicates that the flaw may manifest across several entry points rather than being confined to a single input field, increasing the attack surface and exploitation potential.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it represents a significant threat to enterprise security infrastructure. When attackers successfully exploit this XSS vulnerability, they can potentially steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users, or redirect victims to malicious sites. Given that Tripwire Enterprise serves as a security monitoring solution, compromising its login interface could provide attackers with unauthorized access to critical security data and potentially allow them to evade detection mechanisms. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the network or system, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with remote access requirements.
Organizations utilizing Tripwire Enterprise 7.0 should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding controls to prevent malicious scripts from being executed within the web interface. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and proper HTML escaping mechanisms would significantly reduce the exploitation risk. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of all web-based management interfaces and ensure that regular security updates are applied to maintain protection against known vulnerabilities. This incident underscores the importance of maintaining robust web application security practices and the necessity of regular security testing to identify and remediate such critical flaws before they can be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as it enables attackers to execute malicious code within the victim's browser context.