CVE-2015-0732 in Web Security Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Cisco AsyncOS on the Web Security Appliance (WSA) 9.0.0-193; Email Security Appliance (ESA) 8.5.6-113, 9.1.0-032, 9.1.1-000, and 9.6.0-000; and Content Security Management Appliance (SMA) 9.1.0-033 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via an unspecified parameter, aka Bug IDs CSCuu37430, CSCuu37420, CSCut71981, and CSCuv50167.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/07/2022
The CVE-2015-0732 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting multiple Cisco security appliances including the Web Security Appliance WSA 9.0.0-193, Email Security Appliance ESA versions 8.5.6-113, 9.1.0-032, 9.1.1-000, and 9.6.0-000, as well as the Content Security Management Appliance SMA 9.1.0-033. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the affected software components, creating an exploitable condition that allows remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the application's response. The flaw manifests through unspecified parameters within the web interface, making it particularly dangerous as attackers can leverage various input vectors to bypass existing security controls. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a Cross-Site Scripting attack, specifically representing a weakness in input validation where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages. This issue directly impacts the integrity and confidentiality of security appliance operations, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, data exfiltration, or further network compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it compromises the fundamental security posture of Cisco's security infrastructure. Attackers can leverage this flaw to establish persistent access to the appliance management interfaces, potentially gaining unauthorized administrative privileges or executing malicious commands against protected network traffic. The vulnerability affects multiple appliance types within Cisco's security portfolio, indicating a systemic issue in the input processing mechanisms across different security domains including web filtering, email security, and content management. This widespread impact suggests that the underlying flaw exists in shared code components or common input handling libraries, making it particularly concerning for organizations that deploy multiple Cisco security appliances. The vulnerability's exploitation requires only remote access to the affected web interfaces, eliminating the need for physical presence or complex network positioning, which significantly increases the attack surface and potential for successful exploitation.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco, which would typically include input validation improvements and enhanced output encoding mechanisms. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of these appliances to untrusted networks, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect anomalous traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should involve comprehensive testing of patched systems to ensure that the vulnerability is fully addressed without introducing regressions in appliance functionality. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their entire network infrastructure to identify any other potentially affected systems that might share similar codebases or input processing mechanisms. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, where adversaries can leverage XSS vulnerabilities to execute malicious scripts in user browsers, and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers could use this vulnerability to craft convincing phishing campaigns that target administrators with malicious payloads. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates characteristics of T1071.004 for Application Layer Protocol, where attackers exploit web application vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to security appliances that protect network traffic. The remediation efforts should also include regular security awareness training for administrators to recognize potential exploitation indicators and maintain vigilance against social engineering attacks that might accompany or follow exploitation attempts.