CVE-2013-0571 in Application Support Facility
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Document Connect for Application Support Facility (aka DC4ASF) before 1.0.0.1218 in Application Support Facility (ASF) 3.4 for z/OS on Windows, Linux, and AIX allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/19/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0571 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Document Connect for Application Support Facility, a component of the broader Application Support Facility suite designed for mainframe environments. This security weakness specifically affects versions prior to 1.0.0.1218 and impacts deployments across multiple operating systems including z/OS, Windows, Linux, and AIX platforms. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data within URL parameters, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute unauthorized code within the context of authenticated user sessions.
The technical exploitation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when remote attackers craft malicious URLs containing embedded script payloads that are subsequently processed by the affected IBM Document Connect component. These crafted URLs bypass existing security controls and allow attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content into the application's response, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized privilege escalation. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored or reflected XSS variant depending on how the malicious input is handled and persisted within the application's processing pipeline.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it creates a potential attack surface that could enable sophisticated social engineering campaigns or facilitate more severe compromise scenarios. Attackers leveraging this vulnerability could manipulate user interfaces to display malicious content, steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or even execute malicious commands within the context of the victim's browser session. The distributed nature of the affected platforms including z/OS, Windows, Linux, and AIX means that organizations deploying IBM Document Connect across these environments face identical security risks, potentially affecting enterprise-wide document management and application support workflows.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to IBM Document Connect version 1.0.0.1218 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation deficiencies. Additionally, network-level controls such as web application firewalls should be configured to detect and block suspicious URL patterns, while application-level defenses including proper input sanitization, output encoding, and Content Security Policy headers should be implemented. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security patches in enterprise environments, particularly for critical infrastructure components that handle sensitive business data and support mission-critical applications. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering through malicious web content, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security measures beyond traditional perimeter defenses.