CVE-2015-0577 in Mail Security Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the IronPort Spam Quarantine (ISQ) page in Cisco AsyncOS, as used on the Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) and Content Security Management Appliance (SMA), allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified parameters, aka Bug IDs CSCus22925 and CSCup08113.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/02/2022
The CVE-2015-0577 vulnerability represents a significant security weakness in Cisco's email security infrastructure, specifically affecting the IronPort Spam Quarantine functionality within the AsyncOS operating system. This vulnerability exists within the web interface of Cisco Email Security Appliances and Content Security Management Appliances, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit cross-site scripting flaws that could compromise the entire email security ecosystem. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects the core quarantine functionality that administrators rely on to manage spam and malicious emails, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code within the context of a victim's browser session.
The technical flaw manifests through unspecified parameters within the IronPort Spam Quarantine page that fail to properly sanitize user input before rendering it in web responses. This lack of input validation creates an environment where attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browser context of authenticated users. The vulnerability's classification as multiple XSS flaws indicates that several different input vectors within the ISQ page are susceptible to this type of injection attack, making the exploitation surface broader than a single parameter. The attack requires remote execution without authentication, meaning that an attacker can leverage this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter, potentially compromising the security of the entire email infrastructure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple script injection, as it could enable attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized administrative actions, or redirect users to malicious websites. Given that the affected devices serve as primary email security gateways, successful exploitation could provide attackers with access to quarantined emails, potentially exposing sensitive corporate data or allowing for further network infiltration. The vulnerability affects the fundamental quarantine functionality that administrators use to manage email threats, meaning that attackers could manipulate the system to bypass security controls or gain unauthorized access to email content. This represents a critical compromise of the security model that these appliances are designed to protect.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including patching the affected systems with Cisco's security updates, implementing network segmentation to limit access to these appliances, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious script injection attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and could potentially map to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script execution through web interfaces. Administrators should also conduct thorough security assessments of their email infrastructure, review access controls, and monitor for suspicious activity in their email security logs. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that patches do not disrupt legitimate email quarantine operations while effectively closing the XSS attack vectors that make this vulnerability exploitable.