CVE-2012-6149 in Network Satellite
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in systems/sdc/notes.jsp in Spacewalk and Red Hat Network (RHN) Satellite 5.6 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) subject or (2) content values of a note in a system.addNote XML-RPC call.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/11/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-6149 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the Spacewalk and Red Hat Network (RHN) Satellite 5.6 platforms. This issue resides within the systems/sdc/notes.jsp component and specifically targets the system.addNote XML-RPC call functionality that enables users to add notes to system records. The vulnerability affects both the subject and content parameters of note submissions, creating potential attack vectors that could be exploited by remote malicious actors without requiring authentication or privileged access to the systems. The flaw demonstrates a classic input validation weakness where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages, creating opportunities for attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user input within the XML-RPC interface of the satellite management platform. When administrators or authorized users submit notes through the system.addNote call, the parameters containing subject and content information are directly incorporated into HTML output without appropriate encoding or validation measures. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code, HTML tags, or other harmful content that gets executed when legitimate users view the affected notes. The vulnerability maps to CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a fundamental weakness in web application security where user-controllable data enters a web page without proper validation or encoding, allowing attackers to inject malicious content.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-6149 extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the affected environment. When legitimate users view system notes containing malicious scripts, their browsers execute the injected code in the context of their authenticated sessions, potentially allowing attackers to access sensitive system information, modify system configurations, or even gain administrative privileges. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations using Spacewalk or RHN Satellite for system management, as it undermines the security of the entire management infrastructure where system notes are commonly used for documentation, incident reporting, and operational communications.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding measures, proper sanitization of all user-supplied data before rendering in web interfaces, and deployment of web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. The remediation approach should follow established security practices such as implementing Content Security Policy headers, using proper HTML encoding functions for all dynamic content, and conducting regular security assessments of web applications. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 - Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment, as attackers could leverage this vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads through seemingly legitimate system notes, and T1071.004 - Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols, since the attack vector operates through standard web-based interfaces and XML-RPC protocols. The incident underscores the importance of maintaining robust input validation mechanisms in web applications and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of management interfaces that handle user-generated content.