CVE-2010-4071 in OTRS
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in AgentTicketZoom in OTRS 2.4.x before 2.4.9, when RichText is enabled, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via JavaScript in an HTML e-mail.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2021
The CVE-2010-4071 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the OTRS (Open-source Ticket Request System) platform version 2.4.x prior to 2.4.9. This vulnerability specifically affects the AgentTicketZoom component within the system's interface and becomes exploitable when the RichText functionality is enabled. The flaw arises from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within the web interface. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it allows remote attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML content through email messages, effectively bypassing traditional security controls that might otherwise prevent such attacks.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts a malicious email containing JavaScript code or HTML tags that are then processed by the OTRS system's RichText parser. When the affected AgentTicketZoom interface displays this content, the malicious code executes within the context of the victim's browser session, potentially leading to unauthorized actions or data theft. This represents a classic XSS attack vector where the application fails to properly escape or filter user-controllable input before rendering it in the browser. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-79 as "Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')", which is a fundamental weakness in web application security that has been consistently identified as one of the most prevalent and dangerous vulnerabilities in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the OTRS environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain access to sensitive customer information, ticket data, and potentially escalate privileges to perform administrative actions within the ticketing system. The attack surface is particularly broad since email is a common communication channel in OTRS environments, making it highly likely that legitimate users would encounter malicious content. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment" and T1566.002 for "Phishing: Spearphishing Link", as the malicious email serves as the initial attack vector.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-4071 should focus on immediate patching of the affected OTRS versions to 2.4.9 or later, which includes proper input validation and output encoding fixes. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as content security policies that restrict script execution within the application interface, regular security scanning of email content, and enhanced input sanitization for all user-supplied data. Network-level protections including email filtering systems and web application firewalls can provide additional defense in depth. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and output encoding practices in web applications, reinforcing industry standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten Project and the ISO/IEC 27001 information security management framework. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the system, as this type of flaw often indicates broader security weaknesses in the application's architecture.