CVE-2012-5990 in Prime Network Control System
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Health Monitor Login pages in Cisco Prime Network Control System (NCS) and Wireless Control System (WCS) allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors, aka Bug ID CSCud18375.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-5990 represents a critical security flaw affecting Cisco Prime Network Control System (NCS) and Wireless Control System (WCS) platforms. This issue manifests as multiple cross-site scripting vulnerabilities within the Health Monitor Login pages of these network management systems, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors seeking to exploit the authentication mechanisms of enterprise network infrastructure. The vulnerability specifically impacts the web-based administrative interfaces that organizations rely upon for network monitoring and control, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where network security is paramount.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the Health Monitor Login pages of the affected Cisco products. Attackers can leverage unspecified vectors to inject malicious web scripts or HTML code into the authentication interface, which then executes in the context of other users' browsers who access the compromised login pages. This flaw operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities where insufficient validation of user-provided data allows malicious code execution. The vulnerability's classification aligns with the ATT&CK framework's T1566 technique for Phishing, as attackers can craft malicious web content that appears legitimate to network administrators.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-5990 extends beyond simple script injection, as it enables attackers to potentially escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to network management functions. When network administrators authenticate to the compromised systems, their browsers execute the injected malicious scripts, which could redirect them to attacker-controlled domains, harvest session cookies, or even execute arbitrary commands within the context of the administrative interface. This creates a significant risk for enterprise networks where these systems are used for critical infrastructure monitoring and control, as the compromise of authentication pages can lead to complete system takeover. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations using Cisco Prime NCS and WCS platforms for wireless network management, where the attack surface includes both network monitoring and configuration capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Cisco Prime NCS and WCS systems through official security updates provided by Cisco. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to these administrative interfaces, deploy web application firewalls to filter malicious content, and conduct regular security assessments of web-based management interfaces. The vulnerability's exploitation risk increases when these systems are accessible from untrusted networks, making proper network access controls essential. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual access patterns or script injection attempts in web-based administrative interfaces, as these systems represent high-value targets for advanced persistent threats. Organizations should review their access control policies to ensure that administrative interfaces are only accessible through secure, authenticated channels and that regular security training is provided to network administrators to recognize potential phishing attempts targeting these critical systems.