CVE-2014-4023 in BIG-IP
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in tmui/dashboard/echo.jsp in the Configuration utility in F5 BIG-IP LTM, APM, ASM, GTM, and Link Controller 11.0.0 before 11.6.0 and 10.1.0 through 10.2.4, AAM 11.4.0 before 11.6.0, AFM and PEM 11.3.0 before 11.6.0, Analytics 11.0.0 through 11.5.1, Edge Gateway, WebAccelerator, and WOM 11.0.0 through 11.3.0 and 10.1.0 through 10.2.4, and PSM 11.0.0 through 11.4.1 and 10.1.0 through 10.2.4 and Enterprise Manager 3.0.0 through 3.1.1 and 2.1.0 through 2.3.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/15/2022
The CVE-2014-4023 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the F5 BIG-IP family of security appliances, specifically affecting the tmui/dashboard/echo.jsp component in the Configuration utility. This vulnerability impacts a broad range of F5 products including Local Traffic Manager, Application Performance Manager, Application Security Manager, Global Traffic Manager, Link Controller, AAM, AFM, PEM, Analytics, Edge Gateway, WebAccelerator, WOM, PSM, and Enterprise Manager across multiple version ranges. The flaw resides in the web application's handling of user input within the dashboard interface, creating an avenue for remote attackers to execute malicious code within the context of authenticated users' browsers.
This vulnerability manifests as a classic XSS attack vector where malicious input can be injected into the echo.jsp endpoint without proper sanitization or validation. The affected systems process user-supplied data through the Configuration utility's dashboard interface, which fails to adequately filter or escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious payloads that get executed when legitimate users view the affected dashboard pages, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further compromise of the network infrastructure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform privilege escalation attacks within the context of the affected F5 appliances. According to CWE-79, this vulnerability maps directly to Cross-Site Scripting flaws that allow attackers to inject malicious scripts into web applications viewed by other users. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that F5 BIG-IP appliances typically serve as critical network security infrastructure components, making successful exploitation potentially devastating for enterprise security posture. The vulnerability affects multiple F5 product lines simultaneously, indicating a systemic flaw in the web application framework rather than isolated component issues.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-4023 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to version 11.6.0 or later, as F5 released security updates specifically addressing this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of the Configuration utility to untrusted networks, while monitoring should be enabled to detect potential exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a web application attack vector under the T1059.007 technique for scripting, and organizations should implement web application firewalls to filter suspicious requests to the affected endpoints. Regular security assessments and input validation reviews should be conducted to prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom web applications, as the root cause involves inadequate sanitization of user-provided data within the web interface components.