CVE-2009-3300 in Service Provider
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the Identity Provider (IdP) 1.3.x before 1.3.4 and 2.x before 2.1.5, and the Service Provider 1.3.x before 1.3.5 and 2.x before 2.3, in Internet2 Middleware Initiative Shibboleth allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via URLs that are encountered in redirections, and appear in automatically generated forms.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/22/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3300 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting the Shibboleth identity management system developed by the Internet2 Middleware Initiative. This vulnerability impacts both Identity Provider and Service Provider components across multiple version ranges, specifically affecting IdP versions 1.3.x before 1.3.4 and 2.x before 2.1.5, along with Service Provider versions 1.3.x before 1.3.5 and 2.x before 2.3. The flaw resides in how the system handles URL redirections and automatically generated forms, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through carefully crafted URLs that are processed during redirection operations within the Shibboleth framework. When users are redirected to pages containing unvalidated input parameters, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape these inputs before rendering them in automatically generated HTML forms. This processing gap allows attackers to embed malicious script code that executes in the context of the victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized access to protected resources. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for Initial Access through spearphishing attachments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable sophisticated attack chains targeting the core authentication infrastructure. An attacker could craft malicious redirection URLs that, when clicked by authenticated users, would execute scripts that steal session cookies or redirect users to phishing pages. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations relying on Shibboleth for single sign-on operations, potentially compromising entire authentication domains. Organizations using these vulnerable versions face significant risk of unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data, as the attack requires no privileged access to the Shibboleth infrastructure itself. The automatic nature of the form generation process means that any user interaction with a maliciously crafted URL could trigger the exploit without requiring additional user actions beyond the initial click.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-3300 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to patched releases, specifically updating to IdP 1.3.4 or later, 2.1.5 or later, and Service Provider 1.3.5 or later, 2.3 or later. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms at the application level, ensuring that all URL parameters and form inputs are properly sanitized before processing. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and URL filtering systems can provide additional defense in depth. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other authentication systems. The remediation process requires careful planning to avoid service disruption, as Shibboleth implementations often serve as critical infrastructure components for enterprise authentication systems. Security teams should also monitor for any related vulnerabilities in the Shibboleth ecosystem and maintain updated threat intelligence feeds to identify potential exploitation attempts.