CVE-2016-1000028 in Nessus
Summary
by MITRE
Tenable Nessus before 6.8 has a stored XSS issue that requires admin-level authentication to the Nessus UI, and would only potentially impact other admins. (Tenable ID 5198).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1000028 represents a stored cross-site scripting flaw within Tenable Nessus versions prior to 6.8. This security defect resides in the Nessus user interface and requires administrative privileges to exploit, making it a privilege-escalation related vulnerability that impacts the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a failure to sanitize or escape output data, specifically affecting web applications that process user input through the Nessus web interface.
Stored XSS vulnerabilities occur when malicious scripts are injected into web applications and permanently stored on the server, subsequently executed whenever users access the affected content. In this case, the vulnerability requires an authenticated administrator session to be exploited, indicating that the attacker must first compromise administrative credentials or gain access to an existing administrative account. The impact scope is limited to other administrative users who might be logged into the Nessus interface, as the malicious payload would execute within their browser context. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the ATT&CK matrix under T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566.001 for spearphishing attachment, as it could be exploited through compromised administrative credentials or social engineering tactics.
The technical implementation of this flaw likely involves insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the Nessus web interface components that handle administrative user data. When administrators input certain characters or scripts into fields that are then stored in the application's database and later rendered to other administrative users, the malicious code executes in their browsers without proper sanitization. The vulnerability's requirement for administrative access suggests that the application's input validation mechanisms may not be properly implemented at the administrative privilege level, potentially due to insufficient separation between user and administrator input handling processes.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it could potentially enable attackers to steal administrative session cookies, perform actions on behalf of other administrators, or extract sensitive information from the Nessus interface. Given that Nessus is primarily used for vulnerability scanning and network security assessments, an attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to sensitive security data, potentially leading to further compromise of the network infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as a stored XSS issue means that the malicious payload remains persistent and can affect multiple users over time, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple administrators regularly access the Nessus interface.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of Nessus installations to version 6.8 or later, where the stored XSS flaw has been addressed through proper input validation and output sanitization mechanisms. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to the Nessus interface, enforce strong authentication controls including multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts, and conduct regular security assessments of the Nessus installation. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious activity within the Nessus interface and implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block XSS payloads can provide additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security tools and implementing proper input validation practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks.