CVE-2009-2155 in WebNMS
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in report/ReportViewAction.do in WebNMS Free Edition 5 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the type parameter. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-2155 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness within the WebNMS Free Edition 5 web application framework. This flaw exists in the report/ReportViewAction.do component where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to the browser. The vulnerability specifically targets the type parameter which serves as an entry point for malicious script injection. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that leverage the unvalidated input to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security flaw that allows attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This particular implementation demonstrates how web applications fail to properly validate and escape user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamic web content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration. When a victim browser loads the vulnerable page with malicious input in the type parameter, the injected scripts execute in the context of the victim's session, potentially allowing attackers to steal cookies, modify page content, or redirect users to malicious sites. The attack requires no special privileges or authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone who can access the vulnerable application. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which focuses on Use of Web Shell and T1059.007 which covers Scripting via Command-Line Interface, demonstrating how XSS vulnerabilities can serve as initial access points for broader compromise. The weakness essentially transforms the web application into a vector for delivering malicious payloads to unsuspecting users who may be authenticated within the system.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-2155 must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. The primary fix involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the report/ReportViewAction.do component to sanitize all user-supplied parameters including the type parameter. This includes employing context-specific escaping techniques such as HTML entity encoding for web content, JavaScript escaping for script contexts, and URL encoding for URI contexts. Organizations should also implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and prevent unauthorized code injection. Additionally, the application should adopt parameterized queries and input validation frameworks to prevent similar issues in other components. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in OWASP Top Ten and ISO 27001 security standards, particularly focusing on input validation and output encoding controls. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be implemented to identify and remediate similar weaknesses across the entire application stack. The remediation process should also include updating to supported versions of WebNMS Free Edition where such vulnerabilities have been addressed in newer releases, as the original version is no longer maintained and likely contains additional unpatched security flaws.