CVE-2015-6540 in Core Banking
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Intellect Design Arena Intellect Core banking software.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/08/2022
The CVE-2015-6540 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in Intellect Design Arena's Intellect Core banking software, a comprehensive financial services platform widely deployed across the banking and financial services sector. This vulnerability resides within the application's input validation mechanisms and allows malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into web pages viewed by other users. The flaw specifically affects the software's user interface components that process and display user-provided data without adequate sanitization, creating an exploitable entry point for attackers seeking to compromise the system's integrity and user sessions.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient validation and sanitization of user inputs within the core banking application's web interface. When users interact with the software's web-based components, particularly those handling form submissions, search queries, or dynamic content generation, the application fails to properly escape or filter special characters that could be interpreted as executable script code. This weakness enables attackers to craft malicious payloads that, when executed in a victim's browser, can perform unauthorized actions such as stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or executing unauthorized transactions within the banking application's context. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting as a fundamental web application security weakness involving improper validation of input data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited to compromise entire banking user sessions and potentially escalate to more severe attacks. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to customer accounts, manipulate transaction data, or conduct session hijacking attacks that would go undetected by standard security monitoring systems. The financial services industry's reliance on core banking platforms makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous, as successful exploitation could result in significant financial losses, regulatory violations, and reputational damage. Organizations utilizing Intellect Design Arena software would face increased risk of data breaches and compliance violations under various regulatory frameworks including pci dss, soc 2, and banking-specific regulations that mandate robust security controls.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-6540 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's web interface. Organizations must ensure that all user inputs are properly sanitized using established security libraries and that all dynamic content is rendered with appropriate HTML escaping techniques. The implementation of content security policies and proper security headers can provide additional protection layers against XSS attacks. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities within the application's codebase, while security awareness training for developers can help prevent future occurrences of such flaws. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring systems specifically designed to detect and prevent XSS attack patterns, ensuring compliance with industry standards such as those outlined in the owasp top ten and mitre attack framework's web application attack techniques.