CVE-2008-1663 in System Management Homepage
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in HP System Management Homepage (SMH) 2.1.10 and 2.1.11 on Linux and Windows allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1663 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within HP System Management Homepage version 2.1.10 and 2.1.11 across both Linux and Windows operating systems. This issue falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that enables attackers to inject malicious client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The HP System Management Homepage serves as a web-based interface for system administrators to monitor and manage hardware components, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit web application vulnerabilities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the SMH web interface. Attackers can leverage this weakness through unspecified vectors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content directly into the application's response. This occurs when user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages, allowing malicious payloads to execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability affects the web-based management interface, which means that any authenticated or unauthenticated user who interacts with the SMH web application could potentially be exposed to this XSS attack.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on HP System Management Homepage for system monitoring and management. Attackers could exploit this flaw to execute malicious scripts in the context of authenticated users' sessions, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized administrative actions. The vulnerability's presence in both Linux and Windows versions of the software increases its attack surface, affecting a broad range of enterprise environments. Given that SMH is typically deployed in server management contexts, successful exploitation could allow attackers to gain insights into system configurations, potentially leading to further lateral movement within the network infrastructure.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to the ATT&CK framework's T1059.001 technique for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as the XSS payload execution could enable attackers to perform malicious command execution through compromised web interfaces. The vulnerability also aligns with T1566.001 for Phishing, as attackers could craft malicious web pages that exploit this weakness to steal user credentials or session tokens. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation measures and output encoding practices to prevent such vulnerabilities. The recommended mitigation includes applying the latest security patches from HP, implementing proper web application firewalls, and conducting regular security assessments of management interfaces. Additionally, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege for SMH access and implement multi-factor authentication where possible to reduce the potential impact of such exploitation attempts.