CVE-2012-0737 in Rational AppScan
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Rational AppScan Enterprise 5.x and 8.x before 8.5.0.1 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0737 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Rational AppScan Enterprise versions 5.x and 8.x prior to 8.5.0.1. This security weakness fundamentally undermines the application's ability to properly sanitize user input, creating an environment where malicious actors can execute unauthorized scripts within the context of legitimate user sessions. The vulnerability specifically affects authenticated users who possess valid credentials to access the AppScan Enterprise platform, making it particularly concerning for organizations that rely heavily on this security testing tool for their vulnerability assessment processes.
The technical nature of this XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application's web interface. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that are then executed when other authenticated users view affected pages or interact with the application. The unspecified vectors suggest that the vulnerability may manifest across multiple input points within the application's user interface, potentially including form fields, URL parameters, or even file upload handlers that process user-supplied data. This broad attack surface increases the likelihood of successful exploitation and makes comprehensive mitigation more challenging for administrators.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-0737 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive information, manipulate data, and potentially escalate privileges within the AppScan environment. Given that AppScan Enterprise is designed for security testing and vulnerability assessment, an attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain access to sensitive scan results, configuration data, and potentially use the compromised system as a launch point for further attacks against the organization's network infrastructure. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers would need valid credentials, but this requirement does not significantly reduce the risk since compromised accounts or insider threats could still exploit this weakness.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of IBM Rational AppScan Enterprise should prioritize immediate remediation through the vendor's official patch release for version 8.5.0.1 or subsequent updates. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices that should be addressed through proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. From an operational security perspective, this vulnerability also maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for social engineering and T1071 for application layer protocols, as it enables attackers to manipulate web applications and potentially establish persistent access through malicious script execution. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates poor input sanitization practices that should be addressed through comprehensive security testing and code review processes to prevent similar issues in other application components.