CVE-2017-14758 in Document Sciences xPression
Summary
by MITRE
OpenText Document Sciences xPression (formerly EMC Document Sciences xPression) v4.5SP1 Patch 13 (older versions might be affected as well) is prone to SQL Injection: /xAdmin/html/cm_doclist_view_uc.jsp, parameter: documentId. In order for this vulnerability to be exploited, an attacker must authenticate to the application first.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/26/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14758 affects OpenText Document Sciences xPression version 4.5SP1 Patch 13 and potentially older versions, representing a critical SQL injection weakness within the application's administrative interface. This flaw exists in the /xAdmin/html/cm_doclist_view_uc.jsp component where the documentId parameter is improperly handled, creating an avenue for malicious exploitation that requires initial authentication to the system. The vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into SQL commands without proper sanitization or parameterization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate and sanitize user input before incorporating it into database queries. When an authenticated user submits a malicious documentId parameter to the cm_doclist_view_uc.jsp endpoint, the application directly concatenates this input into SQL execution statements without adequate input filtering or prepared statement usage. This design flaw allows attackers to manipulate the underlying database queries through crafted input sequences that can alter the intended execution flow of SQL commands, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or even complete database compromise.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides attackers with elevated privileges within the Document Sciences xPression environment. While the requirement for initial authentication limits the attack surface compared to unauthenticated vulnerabilities, it does not eliminate the risk entirely since authenticated users may have extensive access rights within the system. The exploitation could enable attackers to extract sensitive information from the database, modify document references, or potentially escalate their privileges within the application's administrative framework. This vulnerability particularly impacts organizations that rely heavily on document management and workflow automation systems where unauthorized access to document repositories could result in data breaches or operational disruptions.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-14758 should focus on immediate patching of the affected OpenText Document Sciences xPression versions to the latest available security updates from the vendor. Organizations should implement proper input validation and parameterization techniques throughout the application codebase to prevent similar issues in the future, ensuring that all user inputs are properly sanitized before database interaction. Network segmentation and access control measures should be reinforced to limit the potential impact of authenticated attacks, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual database query patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing the principle of least privilege for administrative accounts and regular security assessments of web applications can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced into the system architecture. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.005 for application layer protocol usage and T1046 for network service scanning, indicating potential reconnaissance activities that could precede exploitation attempts.