CVE-2014-5326 in Direct Web Remoting
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Direct Web Remoting (DWR) through 2.0.10 and 3.x through 3.0.RC2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/03/2018
The cross-site scripting vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5326 affects Direct Web Remoting (DWR) framework versions up to 2.0.10 and 3.x through 3.0.RC2, representing a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected applications. This vulnerability resides in the core processing mechanisms of DWR, which is a Java-based framework designed to enable web applications to call server-side Java methods directly from client-side JavaScript, thereby facilitating seamless web application development and user interaction.
The technical flaw manifests through unspecified vectors within the DWR framework's input handling and output rendering processes, where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized or validated before being incorporated into web responses. This allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that can execute in the browser context of legitimate users who interact with vulnerable applications. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of web application security and data validation, where the framework fails to implement adequate input filtering mechanisms that would prevent malicious content from being processed and rendered to end users. The lack of proper sanitization creates an environment where attacker-controlled data can be seamlessly integrated into web pages without appropriate security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable sophisticated attack vectors including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and the deployment of malicious content that can compromise user browsers and applications. When exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate web applications in ways that can persist across user sessions, potentially enabling long-term access to affected systems. The consequences are particularly severe in enterprise environments where DWR is used for critical web applications, as successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of services, and potential compromise of entire application infrastructures.
Organizations utilizing DWR frameworks in their web applications should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of the framework, implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic example of how insufficient input validation can lead to severe security consequences. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for scripting and T1566 for social engineering, as it enables attackers to craft malicious web content that can be delivered to unsuspecting users through various delivery mechanisms including phishing campaigns or compromised web applications. Security teams should prioritize patch management for affected systems, conduct thorough code reviews to identify similar vulnerabilities in custom implementations, and implement robust monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.