CVE-2016-3113 in ovirt-engine
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in ovirt-engine allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/04/2025
The CVE-2016-3113 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the oVirt Engine platform, a widely used open-source virtualization management solution. This vulnerability resides in the web interface of the oVirt Engine, which serves as the central management console for virtualized environments. The flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the application's user interface, potentially compromising the security of all users interacting with the platform. The vulnerability specifically affects the way the system handles user input within certain web interface components, creating an avenue for attackers to execute malicious code in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes improper neutralization of input during web page generation, commonly known as cross-site scripting. This flaw occurs when the oVirt Engine fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious input that gets reflected back to other users through the web interface, enabling them to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the victim's browser context. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the core management interface of the virtualization platform, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to virtual machines and underlying infrastructure.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-3113 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities within the compromised environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, modify the content displayed to users, or even execute commands on behalf of the victim. In the context of virtualization management, this could lead to unauthorized access to virtual machines, modification of virtual machine configurations, or complete compromise of the virtualization infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the entire oVirt Engine ecosystem, potentially impacting organizations that rely on this platform for their virtualization needs, including data centers, cloud providers, and enterprise environments managing large-scale virtualized workloads.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-3113 should prioritize immediate patching of affected oVirt Engine installations, as the vulnerability was addressed through official security updates released by the oVirt project. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future, following secure coding practices that align with OWASP Top Ten security recommendations. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection, while regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify potential injection points within the platform. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches across all components of virtualization infrastructure, as this flaw could be exploited as part of broader attack campaigns targeting virtualization environments. Organizations should also consider implementing proper access controls and monitoring mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain audit trails for forensic analysis purposes.