CVE-2014-0639 in RSA Archer eGRC
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in EMC RSA Archer 5.x before GRC 5.4 SP1 P3 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0639 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting EMC RSA Archer versions 5.x prior to GRC 5.4 SP1 P3. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The affected EMC RSA Archer platform serves as a governance risk and compliance solution that organizations use to manage their security operations and compliance workflows, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for enterprise environments.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application's web interface. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that are executed in the context of other users' browsers when they access compromised pages. The unspecified vectors indicate that multiple entry points within the application could be exploited, suggesting a systemic flaw in how the application handles user-supplied data rather than a single point of failure. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when applications fail to properly sanitize or encode user inputs before rendering them in web responses, creating opportunities for attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the victim's browser context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially access sensitive compliance data, manipulate application functionality, escalate privileges, or even establish persistent access through more sophisticated attack chains. Given that EMC RSA Archer is used for governance, risk, and compliance management, the compromise of such a system could lead to significant regulatory violations and business disruption. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the platform, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate risk assessments, compliance reports, and other critical business processes that organizations rely upon for security operations.
Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigations including immediate patching to the GRC 5.4 SP1 P3 version or later, which addresses the underlying input validation issues. Additionally, implementing robust input sanitization measures, output encoding, and content security policies can provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1566.001 for Phishing, as attackers would likely use this vulnerability as an initial access vector to establish a foothold in the target environment. Network segmentation and monitoring for suspicious script injection attempts can also help detect exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other applications within the organization's infrastructure.