CVE-2014-8916 in OpenPages GRC Platform
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM OpenPages GRC Platform 6.2 before IF7, 6.2.1 before 6.2.1.1 IF5, 7.0 before FP4, and 7.1 before FP1 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-0144.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/18/2018
The CVE-2014-8916 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM OpenPages GRC Platform versions prior to specific maintenance releases. This vulnerability affects multiple product versions including 6.2 before IF7, 6.2.1 before 6.2.1.1 IF5, 7.0 before FP4, and 7.1 before FP1, demonstrating the widespread nature of the security issue across the product lifecycle. The vulnerability specifically enables authenticated remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code through manipulated URL inputs, creating a significant risk to the platform's integrity and user data security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the IBM OpenPages platform. When authenticated users navigate to specially crafted URLs containing malicious script payloads, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape the input before rendering it in web responses. This failure creates an XSS vector where attacker-controlled content can be executed in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized data manipulation. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as "Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')" which is a fundamental web application security weakness.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it compromises the trust model of the GRC platform and potentially exposes sensitive organizational data. Since the vulnerability requires authentication, it can be exploited by insiders or compromised accounts, making detection more challenging while simultaneously providing attackers with elevated privileges within the system. The affected versions represent critical business applications used for governance, risk management, and compliance activities, meaning successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to confidential business information, disruption of critical business processes, and potential regulatory compliance violations. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to create persistent backdoors or escalate privileges within the platform's access control mechanisms.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and hotfixes for the affected versions, implementing additional input validation controls, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious URL patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper security testing and input sanitization in enterprise applications, particularly those handling sensitive business data. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of all IBM OpenPages installations and monitor for any suspicious activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing content security policies and regular security training for administrators can help reduce the risk of successful exploitation, as this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript' which is commonly used in web-based attack scenarios targeting authentication bypass and privilege escalation pathways.