CVE-2012-5572 in Perl
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in the cookie method (lib/Dancer/Cookie.pm) in Dancer before 1.3114 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via a cookie name, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-5526.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2021
The CVE-2012-5572 vulnerability represents a critical CRLF injection flaw discovered in the Dancer web application framework's cookie handling mechanism. This vulnerability specifically affects versions of Dancer prior to 1.3114 and resides within the lib/Dancer/Cookie.pm module where the cookie method processes user-supplied input. The flaw enables malicious actors to inject carriage return line feed sequences into HTTP headers, creating a pathway for sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise web application security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization within the cookie name parameter processing. When Dancer receives a cookie name containing CRLF characters, the framework fails to properly escape or validate these sequences before incorporating them into HTTP response headers. This oversight allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers into the response, effectively breaking the separation between HTTP headers and the response body. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, specifically targeting the HTTP response construction process where cookie data is serialized and transmitted to client browsers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple header injection, as it enables HTTP response splitting attacks that can lead to various security breaches including cross-site scripting, session hijacking, and cache poisoning. Attackers can exploit this flaw to inject malicious headers such as Set-Cookie directives with crafted values, redirect responses, or manipulate browser behavior in ways that compromise user sessions and application integrity. The vulnerability's relationship to CVE-2012-5526 demonstrates a pattern of similar flaws in Dancer's cookie handling, suggesting broader architectural issues in the framework's input sanitization processes. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-113, which describes improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1189, which covers content injection attacks targeting HTTP headers.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-5572 require immediate patching of affected Dancer framework versions to 1.3114 or later, which incorporates proper input validation and sanitization for cookie names. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation at multiple layers, including application-level sanitization of cookie data, HTTP header construction, and proxy configuration settings. Additionally, security teams should deploy web application firewalls that can detect and block CRLF sequences in HTTP headers, while implementing proper header encoding techniques that prevent injection attacks. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices such as those outlined in OWASP Top Ten, particularly the prevention of injection flaws, and emphasizes the necessity of regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in web application frameworks and libraries.