CVE-2015-2960 in Netflow Analyzer
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Zoho NetFlow Analyzer build 10250 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2017
The CVE-2015-2960 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw identified in Zoho NetFlow Analyzer versions prior to build 10250, presenting a significant security risk for organizations relying on this network monitoring solution. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of web application security flaws that can compromise user sessions and data integrity within web-based environments. The affected system processes network flow data and provides monitoring capabilities for network infrastructure, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit web application vulnerabilities. The vulnerability's presence in the network monitoring tool creates a unique risk profile since it could potentially allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive network information and monitoring data.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Zoho NetFlow Analyzer web interface. Attackers can leverage this flaw by injecting malicious scripts through unspecified vectors that likely involve user-controllable parameters within the application's web forms or URL parameters. The vulnerability's classification as a persistent XSS threat means that malicious scripts can be stored on the server and executed whenever legitimate users access affected pages, creating a sustained attack vector that can persist across multiple user sessions. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when web applications fail to properly sanitize user inputs before rendering them in web pages, allowing attackers to inject HTML or JavaScript code that executes in the context of other users' browsers.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-2960 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive network monitoring data, and potentially escalate privileges within the monitoring environment. Network administrators who rely on Zoho NetFlow Analyzer for critical infrastructure monitoring face the risk of having their monitoring capabilities compromised, which could lead to undetected network intrusions or data exfiltration. The vulnerability's exploitation could result in unauthorized access to network flow data, which contains sensitive information about network traffic patterns, user activities, and potential security incidents. Organizations using this tool may experience cascading security issues if attackers use the XSS vulnerability as a foothold to move laterally within their network infrastructure or to target other systems that share similar vulnerabilities.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected Zoho NetFlow Analyzer installations to build 10250 or later versions, which contain the necessary input validation and output encoding fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive web application firewalls and input sanitization measures to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other network monitoring tools. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patched versions to ensure that existing functionality remains intact while addressing the XSS vulnerability. Security teams should also conduct regular vulnerability assessments of network monitoring tools and implement proper security configuration management practices to prevent similar issues from arising in the future. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a typical example of how attackers can exploit input validation weaknesses to compromise web-based monitoring systems. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the initial access and execution phases, where attackers leverage web application vulnerabilities to establish persistent access to target networks and execute malicious code through user browsers.