CVE-2012-4590 in Enterprise Mobility Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in About.aspx in the Portal in McAfee Enterprise Mobility Manager (EMM) before 10.0 might allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) User Agent or (2) Connection variable.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/29/2018
The CVE-2012-4590 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in McAfee Enterprise Mobility Manager's Portal component prior to version 10.0. This vulnerability specifically affects the About.aspx page within the web interface, exposing organizations to significant security risks through malicious injection attacks. The flaw exists due to inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within web pages. The vulnerability impacts the broader enterprise mobility management ecosystem by potentially compromising the integrity of the management portal interface where administrators and users interact with critical mobile device management functionalities.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of HTTP headers, specifically targeting the User Agent and Connection variables that are commonly transmitted by web browsers during HTTP requests. Attackers can craft malicious payloads that leverage these variables to inject arbitrary JavaScript code or HTML content into the About.aspx page. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly escape or filter special characters in these HTTP headers before incorporating them into dynamic web content. This allows threat actors to execute scripts within the context of a victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or further exploitation of the management portal. The flaw aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in web applications.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-4590 extends beyond simple script injection, potentially enabling attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive administrative functions within the McAfee EMM environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could manipulate the portal interface to redirect users to malicious sites, steal administrative credentials, or even escalate privileges within the mobile device management system. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the network or device to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on centralized mobility management solutions. This weakness creates a persistent threat vector that could compromise the entire mobile security infrastructure managed by McAfee EMM, potentially affecting thousands of mobile devices under management. Organizations using vulnerable versions face significant risk of data breaches and unauthorized access to their mobile device management systems.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided patch for McAfee Enterprise Mobility Manager version 10.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Network administrators should also consider implementing additional defensive measures such as web application firewalls to monitor and filter suspicious HTTP headers, particularly those containing unusual User Agent or Connection strings. Input validation should be strengthened at all entry points to ensure that HTTP headers are properly sanitized before processing. Security monitoring should include detection of anomalous patterns in HTTP header data that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper output encoding and input validation practices, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection and T1566 for social engineering through web-based attacks. Regular security assessments of web applications and components should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the enterprise mobility management infrastructure.