CVE-2014-3594 in Horizon
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Host Aggregates interface in OpenStack Dashboard (Horizon) before 2013.2.4, 2014.1 before 2014.1.2, and Juno before Juno-3 allows remote administrators to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a new host aggregate name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2022
The CVE-2014-3594 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the OpenStack Dashboard administrative interface, specifically affecting the Host Aggregates functionality. This vulnerability exists in multiple versions of the Horizon dashboard including releases before 2013.2.4, 2014.1 before 2014.1.2, and Juno before Juno-3, creating a persistent security risk for cloud administrators who rely on this interface for managing host aggregates within their OpenStack environments. The vulnerability specifically targets the input validation mechanism for host aggregate names, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code that can be executed in the context of other administrators' browsers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the Host Aggregates interface where administrators can create new host aggregates by specifying names. When the system fails to properly sanitize or escape user input provided in the host aggregate name field, malicious code can be stored and subsequently rendered when other administrators view the aggregate list or details. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient input sanitization where the dashboard does not properly validate or escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code, creating an attack surface that can be leveraged by remote attackers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal administrative credentials, or execute malicious commands within the context of the victim administrator's session. Since the vulnerability affects the administrative interface, an attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can gain elevated privileges and potentially compromise the entire OpenStack cloud infrastructure. The attack vector requires only that a remote administrator create or modify a host aggregate with malicious input, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through legitimate administrative activities. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering and malicious code injection, and represents a significant risk to cloud security posture as it undermines the trust model of the administrative interface.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-3594 should focus on immediate patching of affected OpenStack Dashboard versions to ensure proper input validation and sanitization of host aggregate names. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation that escapes or removes dangerous characters such as angle brackets, script tags, and other HTML/JavaScript constructs before processing user input. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent execution of unauthorized scripts, though this provides only secondary protection. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date cloud infrastructure components and implementing robust input validation across all administrative interfaces. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments of their cloud management interfaces and establish proper access controls to limit the scope of potential attacks. The fix for this vulnerability required proper implementation of HTML escaping and input sanitization mechanisms in the Horizon dashboard's Host Aggregates functionality, ensuring that user-provided content cannot be interpreted as executable code within the browser context.