CVE-2014-2966 in Resin
Summary
by MITRE
The ISO-8859-1 encoder in Resin Pro before 4.0.40 does not properly perform Unicode transformations, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended text restrictions via crafted characters, as demonstrated by bypassing an XSS protection mechanism.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/21/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-2966 represents a critical flaw in the Resin Pro web application server's handling of character encoding transformations. This issue specifically affects versions prior to 4.0.40 and stems from improper implementation of the ISO-8859-1 encoder within the application server's text processing pipeline. The flaw manifests when the system fails to correctly convert Unicode characters to their ISO-8859-1 equivalents during text transformation processes, creating a potential bypass mechanism for security controls.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the inadequate Unicode to ISO-8859-1 conversion logic that governs how special characters are processed and validated within the application server. When malicious actors submit crafted characters that exist in both Unicode and ISO-8859-1 encodings, the flawed encoder fails to properly normalize these inputs, allowing characters that should be restricted or sanitized to pass through the security validation mechanisms. This particular encoding inconsistency creates a pathway for attackers to exploit the system's text restriction policies.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to bypass XSS protection mechanisms that rely on strict character filtering and encoding controls. The flaw specifically allows malicious inputs to be interpreted differently by the application server depending on how the text is encoded, potentially enabling attackers to inject malicious scripts or bypass security controls designed to prevent cross-site scripting attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of encoding confusion that can be leveraged for privilege escalation or data exfiltration scenarios.
The implications of this vulnerability extend beyond simple bypass mechanisms as it fundamentally undermines the trust model of the application server's input validation system. Attackers can exploit this weakness to craft inputs that appear benign to one validation layer but are interpreted as malicious by another, creating a multi-layered attack vector. This flaw aligns with CWE-116, which addresses improper encoding or escaping of output, and represents a specific instance where the encoding transformation process fails to maintain consistent security boundaries. The vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1071.004, which covers application layer protocol manipulation, as it exploits the application's handling of encoded data to bypass security controls.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigation strategies including upgrading to Resin Pro version 4.0.40 or later, which contains the necessary encoding fixes. Additionally, administrators should review and strengthen input validation mechanisms, implement more robust character encoding normalization processes, and consider deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious encoding patterns. The fix typically involves ensuring that all text processing operations maintain consistent Unicode handling and that encoding transformations properly sanitize inputs before they are processed by security validation systems.