CVE-2016-4058 in Policy Center
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Huawei Policy Center before V100R003C10SPC020 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to "special characters on pages."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2022
The CVE-2016-4058 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in Huawei Policy Center software prior to version V100R003C10SPC020. This vulnerability specifically targets the web interface of the policy management system, which is commonly used for network security policy configuration and enforcement. The affected system operates as a centralized policy management solution that allows network administrators to define and enforce security policies across enterprise networks. The vulnerability arises from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the web application's user interface components. Attackers exploiting this flaw can manipulate the system's handling of special characters in various user interface elements, potentially compromising the security of authenticated users who interact with the policy center web portal.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of special characters within user input fields or parameters that are processed by the Policy Center's web interface. When authenticated users navigate to pages containing these specially crafted inputs, the system fails to properly sanitize or encode the special characters before rendering them in the browser context. This allows malicious scripts to execute within the victim's browser session, potentially enabling attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users, or redirect users to malicious websites. The vulnerability is classified as a reflected cross-site scripting issue under CWE-79, where user-controllable data flows through the application and back to the user's browser without proper sanitization. The attack vector specifically involves the handling of special characters on pages, indicating that the flaw exists in the input processing logic rather than in the core policy enforcement mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can compromise the integrity of the entire policy management system. Network administrators who authenticate to the Policy Center web interface become potential victims of this attack, creating a significant risk for enterprise security infrastructure. An attacker with valid credentials could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, access sensitive configuration data, or manipulate security policies that control network access. The attack requires only authentication to the system, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by insiders or compromised legitimate users. This vulnerability undermines the trust model of the policy center system, as it allows attackers to execute arbitrary code within the context of authenticated sessions, potentially leading to complete system compromise or unauthorized network access. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, where attackers can execute malicious scripts through browser-based attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-4058 focus on both immediate patching and defensive measures. Organizations should immediately upgrade to Huawei Policy Center version V100R003C10SPC020 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the input validation and output encoding issues. In addition to patching, network administrators should implement additional security controls including web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious script injection attempts, enhanced monitoring of user sessions for suspicious activity, and regular security assessments of the web interface components. Input validation should be strengthened across all user-facing elements to ensure that special characters are properly escaped or filtered before processing. The system should also implement proper output encoding for all dynamic content to prevent script execution in browser contexts. Organizations should consider implementing role-based access controls to limit the impact of compromised accounts and maintain detailed audit logs of all policy management activities to detect potential exploitation attempts. These measures align with security best practices for preventing XSS vulnerabilities and maintaining the integrity of enterprise security management systems.