CVE-2011-1077 in Archiva
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Apache Archiva 1.0 through 1.2.2, and 1.3.x before 1.3.5, allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/08/2021
Apache Archiva represents a comprehensive repository management system that serves as a central hub for storing and managing software artifacts within organizations. The system provides web-based interfaces for artifact browsing, searching, and administrative functions, making it a critical component in software development workflows. These XSS vulnerabilities specifically target the web interfaces that users interact with when managing repositories, viewing artifact details, or performing administrative tasks within the Archiva environment.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Archiva web application. Attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities by injecting malicious scripts or HTML content through unspecified vectors that likely include form fields, URL parameters, or user-provided data inputs. The vulnerabilities exist across multiple versions of Archiva including 1.0 through 1.2.2 and 1.3.x versions before 1.3.5, indicating a persistent issue in the application's data handling processes. These XSS flaws represent a classic weakness where user-supplied data flows directly into web responses without proper sanitization or encoding, creating opportunities for malicious code execution.
The operational impact of these vulnerabilities extends beyond simple script injection, potentially allowing attackers to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive information, or redirect users to malicious websites. An attacker could leverage these vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of a victim's browser, potentially gaining access to stored credentials, session tokens, or other sensitive repository data. The consequences are particularly severe in enterprise environments where Archiva serves as a critical repository for proprietary software artifacts, making the compromise of user sessions or access to repository contents a significant security concern. These vulnerabilities align with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of Apache Archiva should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to patched versions 1.3.5 or later, which contain proper input validation and output encoding fixes. Additional protective measures include implementing web application firewalls, deploying content security policies, and conducting thorough security reviews of user inputs. The vulnerability landscape for Archiva reflects broader patterns in web application security where insufficient sanitization of user inputs remains a persistent threat vector, consistent with ATT&CK technique T1213 which covers data from information repositories. Security teams should also consider implementing automated scanning tools to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications within their environment, as the underlying architectural issues that enable XSS in Archiva often appear in other software systems as well.