CVE-2010-3985 in Operations Orchestration
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in HP Operations Orchestration before 9.0, when Internet Explorer 6.0 is used, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3985 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within HP Operations Orchestration software versions prior to 9.0 specifically affecting users operating Internet Explorer 6.0. This issue falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability manifests when the affected software processes user input without proper sanitization or validation, creating an avenue for malicious code execution within the context of the victim's browser session.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through unspecified vectors that leverage the specific combination of HP Operations Orchestration's web interface and Internet Explorer 6.0's handling of web content. Internet Explorer 6.0, being an outdated browser with known security limitations, exacerbates the risk by potentially lacking modern security mitigations such as XSS filters or enhanced script execution controls. Attackers can craft malicious payloads that, when executed in the victim's browser, can perform actions such as stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or executing unauthorized commands within the application's context. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning given that IE6.0 was widely deployed in enterprise environments during this period, making many organizations susceptible to exploitation.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations using HP Operations Orchestration in environments where Internet Explorer 6.0 remains in use. The attack surface expands when considering that the vulnerability specifically targets older browser versions that may not receive security updates, creating persistent exposure windows. Organizations utilizing this software in production environments face potential data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive operational data, and possible compromise of the entire orchestration platform. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous as attackers can target any user who interacts with the vulnerable system. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Scripting, where adversaries leverage web-based scripting vulnerabilities to execute malicious code.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-3985 should prioritize immediate software updates to HP Operations Orchestration version 9.0 or later, which would contain the necessary patches to address the XSS vulnerability. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent malicious script injection regardless of browser versions. Browser security enhancements including mandatory updates to modern browser versions and implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection layers. Network-level mitigations such as web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and the dangers of continuing to support legacy browser environments that lack modern security features. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across their entire technology stack, as this issue represents a common pattern of insufficient input sanitization in web applications that can lead to widespread compromise.