CVE-2012-5057 in ownCloud
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in ownCloud Server before 4.0.8 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via the url path parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2025
The CVE-2012-5057 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting and response splitting flaw in ownCloud Server versions prior to 4.0.8. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization of the url path parameter, which allows malicious actors to inject carriage return line feed sequences into HTTP headers. The flaw specifically affects the server's handling of user-supplied input in the URL path component, creating an avenue for attackers to manipulate HTTP responses and potentially execute malicious code within the victim's browser context.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the server's insecure processing of HTTP request parameters without proper validation or encoding. When the url path parameter contains CRLF sequences, the server fails to sanitize these characters before incorporating them into HTTP headers, enabling attackers to inject malicious headers into the response. This creates a condition where an attacker can manipulate the HTTP response by injecting additional headers such as Set-Cookie, Location, or Content-Type, effectively allowing for HTTP response splitting attacks that can redirect users to malicious sites or inject content into web pages.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes ownCloud servers to several attack vectors that can compromise user sessions and data integrity. Attackers can leverage this flaw to perform session hijacking by injecting malicious Set-Cookie headers, redirect users to phishing sites through Location header manipulation, or even inject malicious content into responses that could be executed in the context of the victim's browser. The vulnerability particularly affects web applications that rely on ownCloud for file sharing and synchronization services, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive user data and system resources.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2012-5057 involves immediate patching of ownCloud servers to version 4.0.8 or later, which includes proper input sanitization and validation mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation that filters or encodes CRLF characters in all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in URL paths and HTTP headers. Additionally, security measures should include implementing proper header sanitization techniques and deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious CRLF injection attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-113, which addresses improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1189, which covers content injection attacks through HTTP response manipulation. Organizations should also consider implementing proper logging and monitoring of HTTP request parameters to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain compliance with security standards such as OWASP Top Ten and NIST SP 800-53 security controls.