CVE-2016-1230 in WebARENA Service Formmail
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in NTT PC Communications WebARENA Service formmail before 2.2.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/03/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1230 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the NTT PC Communications WebARENA Service formmail component prior to version 2.2.1. This security weakness falls under the broader category of input validation failures that have been systematically catalogued by the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) as CWE-79, which specifically addresses "Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')". The vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of a victim's browser session, potentially leading to unauthorized actions and data exfiltration.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs through unspecified vectors within the formmail functionality, suggesting that the application fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. Attackers can exploit this weakness by submitting malicious payloads through form fields or parameters that are then processed and rendered back to users without adequate security controls. The lack of specific vector details in the original description indicates that the vulnerability may manifest across multiple input points within the formmail service, making it particularly challenging to defend against through targeted patching approaches.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it creates a potential attack surface that could be leveraged for session hijacking, credential theft, and data manipulation. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could redirect users to malicious websites, steal session cookies, or inject malicious content that persists on the affected web application. According to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability would map to the technique T1059.001 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell" and potentially T1566 for "Phishing" if attackers use the vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads through email campaigns. The web application's role in processing user input makes it particularly susceptible to this class of attack, as it serves as an entry point for malicious actors seeking to compromise user sessions and system integrity.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1230 should prioritize immediate patching of the affected WebARENA Service formmail component to version 2.2.1 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other components of their web applications. The application should employ proper sanitization techniques that ensure all user-supplied content is escaped or filtered before being rendered in web pages. Additionally, implementing a Content Security Policy (CSP) header can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across the organization's web infrastructure. The remediation process should align with industry best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten Project, particularly focusing on the prevention of XSS vulnerabilities through proper input validation and output encoding controls.