CVE-2013-2337 in Service Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in HP Service Manager 7.11, 9.21, 9.30, and 9.31, and ServiceCenter 6.2.8, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/18/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2337 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting multiple versions of HP Service Manager and ServiceCenter platforms. This weakness resides in the web application layer of these enterprise service management solutions, creating a persistent security risk that can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring authentication or privileged access. The vulnerability manifests across versions 7.11, 9.21, 9.30, and 9.31 of HP Service Manager, as well as version 6.2.8 of ServiceCenter, indicating a widespread impact within the HP service management ecosystem. The unspecified vectors suggest that the flaw could potentially be triggered through various input points within the web interface, making it particularly challenging to defend against and remediate comprehensively.
This XSS vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute within the context of other users' browsers when they interact with the affected service management platform. The impact extends beyond simple script execution, as these scripts can manipulate the user interface, steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or even execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The remote attack vector eliminates the need for physical access or local network presence, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where these platforms handle sensitive business and operational data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial for organizations relying on HP Service Manager and ServiceCenter solutions. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to service management workflows, manipulate incident reports, alter service requests, or compromise the integrity of the entire service management database. The vulnerability could enable attackers to establish persistent access points within the organization's service management infrastructure, potentially leading to broader security breaches. Given that these platforms typically manage critical IT service operations, a successful XSS attack could disrupt business continuity, compromise service level agreements, and expose sensitive operational data to unauthorized parties. The attack could also facilitate privilege escalation if the application does not properly enforce access controls.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data within the web application interface. The recommended approach involves implementing strict content security policies, sanitizing all user inputs, and employing proper HTML encoding for dynamic content display. Additionally, organizations should consider deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious script injection attempts. Regular security updates and patches from HP should be applied immediately upon availability, as this vulnerability represents a known weakness that attackers are likely to exploit. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, while security awareness training should be conducted to ensure users recognize potential XSS attack indicators and report suspicious activities promptly.