CVE-2012-0989 in Action And Information Management System
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in OneOrZero AIMS 2.8.0 Trial Edition build231211 and possibly earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the PATH_INFO to index.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0989 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the OneOrZero AIMS 2.8.0 Trial Edition build231211 and potentially earlier versions of the application. This security weakness resides in the application's handling of input parameters, specifically the PATH_INFO variable that is processed by the index.php script. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation and sanitization of user-supplied data before it is rendered in web responses, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the PATH_INFO parameter that is passed to the index.php endpoint. When the application processes this parameter without proper input validation, it allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML content that gets executed in the victim's browser when the page is rendered. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, where the application fails to sanitize user-controllable data that is then used in dynamic web content generation. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it leverages the trust relationship between the web application and its users, enabling attackers to bypass normal security restrictions and potentially escalate their privileges or access sensitive information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data manipulation, and redirection to malicious sites. Attackers can craft payloads that exploit the XSS vulnerability to steal session cookies, which would allow them to impersonate legitimate users and gain unauthorized access to the application's functionality. The vulnerability affects the application's integrity and confidentiality, as it provides an entry point for attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for script injection techniques and T1531 for credential access through web application vulnerabilities, demonstrating how the flaw can be leveraged to establish persistent access and exfiltrate sensitive information from the target environment.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's codebase. The primary defense involves sanitizing all user-supplied input, particularly the PATH_INFO parameter, before processing or rendering it in web responses. Implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded and executed. Organizations should also consider implementing proper parameter validation routines that reject or escape potentially malicious input patterns, and ensure that all application components properly encode data before it is included in HTML output. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the application, as this type of flaw often indicates broader issues with input handling practices that may affect other components of the system.