CVE-2016-9457 in Adserver
Summary
by MITRE
Revive Adserver before 3.2.3 suffers from Reflected XSS. `www/admin/stats.php` is vulnerable to reflected XSS attacks via multiple parameters that are not properly sanitised or escaped when displayed, such as setPerPage, pageId, bannerid, period_start, period_end, and possibly others.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/22/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9457 affects Revive Adserver versions prior to 3.2.3 and represents a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw that exposes the application to malicious code execution. This vulnerability resides within the administrative statistics page at www/admin/stats.php which processes multiple user-controllable parameters without adequate input validation or output sanitization. The affected parameters include setPerPage, pageId, bannerid, period_start, period_end, and potentially additional unspecified variables that can be manipulated by attackers to inject malicious scripts into the application's response.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability follows the classic reflected XSS pattern where malicious input is immediately reflected back to the user without proper sanitization or escaping mechanisms. When users navigate to the vulnerable page with crafted parameters, the application processes these inputs and incorporates them directly into the HTML response without appropriate encoding or validation. This creates an environment where an attacker can construct a malicious URL containing JavaScript code that gets executed in the victim's browser when they click on the link or visit the page. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it occurs in the administrative interface where users typically have elevated privileges, potentially allowing attackers to escalate their access level.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the context of the vulnerable application. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, modify content displayed to authenticated users, or even gain unauthorized access to administrative functions. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that the attack requires user interaction, typically through phishing emails or social engineering tactics, but once executed, it can compromise the integrity of the entire ad server infrastructure. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is sent to a user agent without proper validation or escaping.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective immediate solution is to upgrade to Revive Adserver version 3.2.3 or later where the vulnerability has been patched. Additionally, developers should implement strict parameter validation for all user inputs, particularly those used in administrative interfaces, and apply proper HTML encoding to all output data. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection layers by restricting script execution and reducing the impact of successful XSS attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, though these should not be relied upon as the sole defense mechanism. Regular security audits and input validation testing should be conducted to ensure similar vulnerabilities do not exist in other parts of the application, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566.001 for spearphishing via social media to prevent exploitation attempts.