CVE-2011-4237 in CiscoWorks Common Services
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in autologin.jsp in Cisco CiscoWorks Common Services 4.0, as used in Cisco Prime LAN Management Solution and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via the URL parameter, aka Bug ID CSCtu18693.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/01/2021
The CVE-2011-4237 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting and header injection flaw discovered in Cisco CiscoWorks Common Services 4.0, specifically within the autologin.jsp component. This vulnerability exists due to insufficient input validation and sanitization of user-supplied URL parameters, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate HTTP headers and execute response splitting attacks. The affected system components are part of Cisco Prime LAN Management Solution and other Cisco products that utilize the Common Services framework, making this a widespread concern across multiple network management platforms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the improper handling of user input within the autologin.jsp script, which processes URL parameters without adequate sanitization or validation. When an attacker crafts a malicious URL containing specially formatted carriage return line feed sequences, these sequences can be injected into HTTP headers, allowing for the manipulation of response content. This CRLF (Carriage Return Line Feed) injection technique enables attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers, potentially redirecting users to malicious sites, stealing session cookies, or injecting malicious content into web responses. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-110, which specifically addresses "Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences in HTTP Headers" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 for "Proxy Connection" and T1566 for "Phishing".
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows remote attackers to conduct HTTP response splitting attacks without requiring authentication or physical access to the network. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform session hijacking, redirect users to phishing sites, or inject malicious content into web responses, potentially compromising the entire network management infrastructure. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations using Cisco Prime LAN Management Solution, where unauthorized access to network management systems could lead to complete network compromise. This attack vector enables adversaries to manipulate the HTTP response headers, creating opportunities for man-in-the-middle attacks, session fixation, and other sophisticated web-based exploitation techniques that could compromise sensitive network configuration data and management credentials.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and sanitization of all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in URL processing within web applications. Network segmentation and access controls should be enhanced to limit exposure of vulnerable systems, while regular security updates and patches from Cisco should be deployed immediately. The implementation of web application firewalls and HTTP header filtering mechanisms can help detect and prevent CRLF injection attempts. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous HTTP header patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications within the network infrastructure. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation in web applications and aligns with security best practices outlined in OWASP Top 10 and NIST cybersecurity frameworks for preventing injection attacks and maintaining web application security.