CVE-2015-2967 in Cacti
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in settings.php in Cacti before 0.8.8d allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2022
The CVE-2015-2967 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the Cacti network monitoring solution prior to version 0.8.8d. This vulnerability resides within the settings.php file, which serves as a crucial administrative component for configuring various aspects of the Cacti system. The flaw enables remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the application's user interface, potentially compromising the security of authenticated users who interact with the affected administrative interface.
This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored XSS attack vector where malicious input is permanently stored on the server and subsequently executed when other users access the affected page. The unspecified vectors in the original description suggest that the vulnerability could be exploited through multiple input points within the settings.php file, making it particularly dangerous as attackers could potentially target various configuration parameters or user input fields. The impact is amplified because Cacti is typically deployed in enterprise environments where administrative access is often restricted to authorized personnel, making successful exploitation potentially devastating.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it could enable attackers to escalate privileges, steal session cookies, perform unauthorized administrative actions, or redirect users to malicious websites. Given that Cacti is widely used for network monitoring and system administration, an attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain access to critical network infrastructure monitoring data, potentially leading to reconnaissance of network topology, identification of vulnerable systems, or even complete compromise of the monitoring infrastructure. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or local network presence to exploit it, making it particularly attractive to threat actors.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-2967 should focus on immediate patching to version 0.8.8d or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the XSS vulnerability. Organizations should also implement input validation and output encoding measures to prevent similar issues in other parts of their applications. Security professionals should conduct thorough code reviews of administrative interfaces to identify potential XSS vulnerabilities, particularly focusing on areas where user-supplied data is processed and displayed. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers could leverage the XSS to execute malicious scripts within the browser context of authenticated users. Additionally, implementing proper web application firewall rules to detect and block suspicious script injection patterns can provide additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts.