CVE-2013-2957 in InfoSphere Optim Data Growth for Oracle E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Growth for Oracle E-Business Suite 6.x, 7.x, and 9.x before 9.1.0.3 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2957 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Growth for Oracle E-Business Suite versions 6.x, 7.x, and 9.x prior to 9.1.0.3. This security weakness resides in the application's handling of user-supplied input within URL parameters, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of authenticated user sessions. The flaw specifically manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize or validate URL inputs, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads that persist and execute within the victim's browser environment.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability operates as a classic reflected cross-site scripting attack where user-controllable data flows through the application's request processing pipeline without adequate sanitization. The affected IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Growth application processes URL parameters that are subsequently rendered in web responses without proper encoding or validation mechanisms. This allows an authenticated attacker with knowledge of the application's interface to craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that execute when other users navigate to those URLs or interact with the vulnerable application components. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which specifically addresses the failure to properly escape or encode user-supplied data before incorporating it into web responses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to perform a range of malicious activities within the context of authenticated sessions. An attacker could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, modify page content, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users with the privileges of the compromised account. Given that this affects Oracle E-Business Suite environments, which typically handle sensitive financial and operational data, the potential for data exfiltration or privilege escalation is significant. The vulnerability affects multiple major versions of the IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Growth product, indicating a widespread exposure across different deployment scenarios and organizational environments that rely on Oracle E-Business Suite for their core operations.
Organizations exposed to this vulnerability face substantial risk of credential theft, session hijacking, and potential data breaches when attackers leverage the XSS capability to establish persistent access to authenticated user sessions. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers do not require elevated privileges to exploit the vulnerability, as they can leverage existing legitimate user sessions to execute malicious code. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users maintain elevated privileges within Oracle E-Business Suite applications. Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in relation to the ATT&CK framework's T1566 technique for Phishing and T1071.1003 for Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols, as attackers could use this flaw to establish initial access or maintain persistence within target environments. The remediation approach should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms, along with applying the vendor-provided patches that address the specific version vulnerabilities in IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Growth for Oracle E-Business Suite.
The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in web applications, particularly within enterprise software environments where applications process user-supplied data from multiple sources. Organizations should implement comprehensive security testing procedures that include dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing to identify similar input validation flaws in their application portfolios. The specific nature of this vulnerability also highlights the need for proper security training for developers working with web technologies, emphasizing the importance of proper HTML encoding, parameter validation, and secure coding practices. Additionally, network monitoring and web application firewalls should be configured to detect and block suspicious URL patterns that may indicate attempts to exploit this or similar vulnerabilities. The remediation process requires careful coordination between security teams and application administrators to ensure that patches are applied without disrupting critical business operations while maintaining the integrity of Oracle E-Business Suite environments that depend on the IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Growth functionality.