CVE-2012-0908 in SimpleSAMLphp
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in logout.php in SimpleSAMLphp 1.8.1 and possibly other versions before 1.8.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the link_href parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2021
The CVE-2012-0908 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in SimpleSAMLphp version 1.8.1 and earlier releases. This vulnerability specifically affects the logout.php script within the authentication framework, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on this open-source identity and access management solution. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices within the application's logout functionality, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of authenticated user sessions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the link_href parameter in the logout.php endpoint. When an attacker crafts a malicious URL containing crafted script code within this parameter, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before rendering it in the web response. This failure allows the injected malicious content to execute in the victim's browser when they navigate to the crafted URL, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or other malicious activities. The vulnerability is classified as a classic reflected XSS attack pattern, where the malicious payload is reflected back to the user through the vulnerable parameter without proper sanitization.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to organizations using SimpleSAMLphp for authentication services. Attackers could leverage this flaw to steal user sessions, redirect authenticated users to malicious sites, or inject phishing content that appears legitimate to users. The vulnerability affects the core logout functionality, which is a critical component of any authentication system, potentially undermining the security posture of entire authentication infrastructures. Organizations using affected versions face the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data, particularly when users are authenticated through SimpleSAMLphp-enabled services.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications. This classification indicates that the root cause lies in improper handling of untrusted data within the application's web interface, where user-supplied input is not adequately validated or escaped before being rendered in HTML output. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for initial access through malicious web content and T1071 for application layer protocols. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to SimpleSAMLphp version 1.8.2 or later, implementing proper input validation for all parameters, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. Additionally, security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of all authentication systems and ensure proper output encoding practices are implemented across all web applications to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other components.