CVE-2012-4745 in Acuity CMS
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in admin/login.asp in Acuity CMS 2.6.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the UserName parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/20/2024
The CVE-2012-4745 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in Acuity CMS version 2.6.2 that resides within the administrative login interface. This vulnerability specifically targets the UserName parameter in the admin/login.asp endpoint, creating a persistent vector for malicious code injection that can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring authentication. The flaw demonstrates a classic input validation failure where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized or escaped before being rendered back to the browser, enabling attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of authenticated admin sessions. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security flaws identified by the CWE organization. The attack surface is particularly concerning as it targets the administrative login page, which serves as a critical access point for system management and content modification functions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker submits malicious input through the UserName parameter during the login process. The application fails to implement proper output encoding or input sanitization measures, allowing the attacker to inject HTML tags and JavaScript code that gets executed in the victim's browser when the page renders. This injection can occur even before authentication is successful, as the vulnerability exists in the login form processing logic rather than in authenticated session handling. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as attackers can leverage this flaw to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized administrative actions, or redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability is classified as a reflected XSS attack pattern within the ATT&CK framework, specifically mapping to technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious web content. Attackers can craft payloads that appear legitimate to administrators, making the attack more difficult to detect and mitigate.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-4745 is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with potential administrative privileges within the CMS environment. Once exploited, the vulnerability allows unauthorized individuals to manipulate website content, modify user accounts, access sensitive data, and potentially escalate their privileges further within the system. The administrative access gained through this vulnerability can lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and service disruption. Organizations using Acuity CMS 2.6.2 face significant risk of unauthorized content modification, user credential theft, and potential lateral movement within their network infrastructure. The vulnerability's persistence in the login form makes it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited repeatedly without requiring additional authentication attempts, and the attack can be automated to target multiple administrators. This flaw also enables attackers to establish persistent backdoors or create malicious content that can affect all users of the website, making it a high-priority security concern for organizations maintaining web applications with administrative interfaces.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-4745 should focus on immediate remediation through proper input validation and output encoding practices. Organizations must implement comprehensive parameter sanitization that strips or encodes potentially dangerous characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and script tags before processing user input. The recommended approach involves applying strict input validation rules that reject or sanitize all non-alphanumeric characters in the UserName field, combined with proper HTML escaping when rendering user-supplied data. Security patches or updates from the Acuity CMS vendor should be applied immediately, as this vulnerability has been identified and documented in security advisories. Additionally, organizations should implement web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious payloads targeting known XSS attack patterns, and establish regular security testing procedures including automated vulnerability scanning and manual penetration testing. Network segmentation and privileged access controls should be implemented to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation, while also deploying security monitoring solutions that can detect unusual administrative access patterns or unauthorized content modifications. The implementation of content security policies and proper session management practices can further reduce the attack surface and prevent exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities.