CVE-2013-4779 in Enterprise OpenScape Branch
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in core/handleTw.php on the Siemens Enterprise OpenScape Branch appliance and OpenScape Session Border Controller (SBC) before 2 R0.32.0, and 7 before 7 R1.7.0, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2018
The CVE-2013-4779 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting Siemens Enterprise OpenScape Branch appliances and Session Border Controllers. This vulnerability exists within the core/handleTw.php component of affected systems, specifically impacting versions prior to 2 R0.32.0 for the Branch appliance and 7 R1.7.0 for the SBC. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected systems, creating significant security implications for enterprise communications infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as an XSS weakness indicates that user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being processed and returned to web clients, creating an attack surface where malicious payloads can be injected and executed.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the handleTw.php script. When the system processes user-provided data through this component, it fails to adequately sanitize or escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. This allows attackers to craft malicious input strings that, when processed by the vulnerable application, get executed in the browser context of legitimate users who interact with the affected system. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple input points or data handling methods within the script could potentially be exploited, making the attack surface more extensive than initially apparent. This type of vulnerability typically falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-4779 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it can enable attackers to establish persistent access to enterprise communication systems. Remote attackers could leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, inject malicious content into communication sessions, or potentially escalate privileges within the affected appliance environment. The Siemens OpenScape appliances serve as critical components in enterprise voice and video communication infrastructure, making successful exploitation particularly dangerous. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to sensitive communication data, disrupt services, or use the compromised system as a pivot point for further attacks within the enterprise network. The vulnerability's presence in both Branch appliances and Session Border Controllers indicates a systemic issue affecting core telephony infrastructure components.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-4779 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to the recommended versions or applying vendor-provided security updates. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation measures and output encoding mechanisms to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other application components. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect suspicious traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of other Siemens OpenScape components to identify potential similar weaknesses. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this vulnerability under T1566 for credential access through social engineering and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could use the XSS capability to execute malicious commands or scripts within the compromised environment. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be implemented to ensure that input sanitization mechanisms remain effective against evolving attack vectors.