CVE-2017-14941 in JasperReports
Summary
by MITRE
Jaspersoft JasperReports 4.7 suffers from a saved credential disclosure vulnerability, which allows a remote authenticated user to retrieve stored Data Source passwords by accessing flow.html and reading the HTML source code of the page reached in an Edit action for a Data Source connector.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/21/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14941 affects Jaspersoft JasperReports version 4.7 and represents a critical credential disclosure flaw that undermines the security posture of business intelligence reporting platforms. This vulnerability resides within the data source management functionality of the software, specifically during the editing process of data source connectors. The flaw enables authenticated attackers to exploit a design oversight that exposes sensitive authentication credentials through improper access control mechanisms. When users navigate to the flow.html page and perform an edit action on a data source connector, the system inadvertently reveals stored password information in the HTML source code, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this reporting platform.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the web interface components of JasperReports. The system fails to properly sanitize or restrict access to sensitive data during the data source editing workflow, allowing the HTML response to contain cleartext passwords in a format that can be easily extracted by an authenticated user. This behavior directly violates fundamental security principles of credential protection and demonstrates a lack of proper access controls for privileged operations. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires only authentication credentials to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by users with legitimate access to the system. According to CWE classification, this corresponds to CWE-200: Information Exposure, and more specifically CWE-522: Insufficiently Protected Credentials, which addresses the improper handling of sensitive authentication information within applications.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-14941 extends beyond simple credential exposure, as it provides attackers with the means to escalate their privileges within the reporting environment and potentially gain access to underlying data sources. Organizations using JasperReports for business intelligence may find their database credentials, API keys, and other sensitive authentication tokens compromised, leading to potential data breaches and unauthorized access to critical business information. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the administrative functionality of the platform, allowing attackers to modify or extract data source configurations that could provide access to enterprise databases, cloud services, or other sensitive systems. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1552.001: Unsecured Credentials and T1078.002: Valid Accounts, as it exploits legitimate user accounts to extract sensitive information that could then be used for further compromise.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches or upgrading to versions that address this credential disclosure vulnerability. The recommended approach involves ensuring that all data source credentials are properly encrypted and that the web interface properly sanitizes output to prevent exposure of sensitive information. Additional protective measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to the JasperReports application, enforcing strict access controls for administrative functions, and monitoring for unusual activity patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also conduct thorough audits of all stored credentials within the system to identify and remediate any additional exposure risks. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation, output encoding, and access control implementation in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive authentication data. Organizations should also consider implementing automated credential rotation policies and multi-factor authentication to reduce the potential impact of credential exposure incidents.