CVE-2013-3979 in Star Command Center
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the help pages in Web\Content\Help\ in the Web Client in IBM Cognos Command Center (aka Star Command Center or Star Analytics) before 10.1, when Internet Explorer is used, allow remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-3979 represents a significant security flaw in IBM Cognos Command Center, a business intelligence and analytics platform that enables organizations to monitor and analyze business performance metrics. This vulnerability specifically affects the web client component of the software, targeting the help pages located within the Web\Content\Help\ directory structure. The issue manifests as multiple cross-site scripting vulnerabilities that can be exploited by remote authenticated users, making it particularly concerning for enterprise environments where such systems are widely deployed and accessed by multiple users with varying permission levels.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the help page functionality of the web client interface. When Internet Explorer is used as the browser, the system fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data that gets rendered in the help pages, creating opportunities for malicious script injection. This flaw allows authenticated attackers who already possess valid credentials to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code that will execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability exists in the way the application processes and displays help content, where user input is not adequately filtered or escaped before being rendered in the browser environment, creating a classic XSS attack vector.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised environment. An attacker could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, modify content displayed to other users, or even execute more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft or privilege escalation within the application. Given that this affects a business intelligence platform, the potential damage could include unauthorized access to sensitive business data, manipulation of analytical reports, or disruption of critical business monitoring processes. The fact that this vulnerability requires authentication makes it somewhat less severe than a fully unauthenticated attack, but it still represents a significant risk to organizations that trust their authenticated users or lack proper access controls.
Organizations utilizing IBM Cognos Command Center should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through the application of official patches provided by IBM, as the vendor has released updates addressing this specific issue. The recommended mitigation strategy includes not only applying the security patches but also implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls, enhanced input validation, and regular security assessments of the web application components. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications. The attack surface is particularly relevant to the ATT&CK framework's initial access and execution phases, where attackers leverage authenticated access to establish persistent presence within the network and execute malicious code against other users within the same application environment. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect anomalous behavior in help page access patterns or unusual script injection attempts that might indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.