CVE-2012-2397 in ownCloud
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in ownCloud before 3.0.3 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert cross-site scripting (XSS) sequences via vectors involving contacts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2025
The CVE-2012-2397 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in ownCloud versions prior to 3.0.3, fundamentally compromising user authentication security through sophisticated attack vectors. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of CSRF and XSS exploitation techniques, creating a particularly dangerous scenario where attackers can manipulate legitimate user sessions to execute malicious scripts. The flaw specifically affects the contacts management functionality within ownCloud, which serves as a critical component for user data synchronization and communication within the platform. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation in the contact management interfaces, allowing malicious actors to craft requests that appear legitimate to the server while executing unauthorized operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability leverages the inherent trust relationship between the web application and its authenticated users. When users access the contacts feature, the application fails to properly validate the source of incoming requests, creating an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious XSS payloads through carefully crafted CSRF attacks. This dual nature of the vulnerability means that attackers can not only hijack user sessions but also persist malicious scripts within the contact data that will execute whenever other users view or interact with the compromised contact information. The flaw specifically impacts the contact synchronization and data insertion mechanisms, where user-provided data is processed without adequate sanitization or validation of the request context.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-2397 extends far beyond simple session hijacking, as it enables persistent XSS attacks that can compromise entire user bases within an ownCloud deployment. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to inject malicious scripts that steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or perform unauthorized data modifications on behalf of legitimate users. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that contacts are frequently accessed and shared among users, creating multiple potential infection points for the XSS payloads. This vulnerability directly violates several security principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten, specifically addressing the risks associated with insufficient anti-CSRF protection and cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. The flaw also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002 which covers the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities to conduct credential theft and session hijacking operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-2397 require immediate implementation of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms throughout the application's contact management interfaces. Organizations should implement strict origin validation checks and ensure that all state-changing requests include unique, unpredictable tokens that cannot be forged by attackers. The solution involves deploying comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent XSS payload persistence, while also implementing proper session management controls. Security patches should address the root cause by ensuring that contact data insertion operations require proper authentication tokens and validate request contexts against expected origins. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to provide additional defense-in-depth against XSS execution, though this should not replace proper CSRF protection mechanisms. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar flaws in web application frameworks.