CVE-2014-3497 in Swift
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in OpenStack Swift 1.11.0 through 1.13.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the WWW-Authenticate header.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-3497 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within OpenStack Swift versions 1.11.0 through 1.13.1, specifically affecting the authentication handling mechanism. This issue resides in the way the system processes the WWW-Authenticate header, which is a standard HTTP response header used for authentication challenges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization of authentication header values, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content into the authentication response. The flaw operates at the application layer and demonstrates a classic XSS vulnerability pattern that can be exploited through web-based attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the OpenStack Swift service receives an authentication request that triggers a WWW-Authenticate header response. The system fails to properly sanitize or escape user-controllable input from the authentication process, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads directly into this header. When a victim's browser processes this malformed authentication response, the injected script executes within the context of the victim's session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or other malicious activities. This vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the authentication layer where users expect secure and trusted responses, making the attack vector more insidious and difficult to detect.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable sophisticated attack chains within cloud environments. An attacker could craft malicious authentication responses that redirect users to phishing sites, steal session cookies, or execute arbitrary commands within the context of authenticated users. The vulnerability affects the integrity of the authentication system and can compromise the security posture of entire OpenStack deployments, particularly in multi-tenant environments where multiple users share the same infrastructure. This flaw violates fundamental security principles of input validation and output encoding, creating persistent risks for organizations relying on OpenStack Swift for object storage services.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to versions of OpenStack Swift that have addressed this vulnerability, typically versions beyond 1.13.1. The fix involves proper sanitization and escaping of authentication header values before they are returned in HTTP responses. Security controls should include implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution, regular security scanning of authentication endpoints, and monitoring for suspicious authentication responses. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability relates to CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploiting vulnerabilities in authentication systems. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and network segmentation to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities in their cloud infrastructure deployments.