CVE-2017-1502 in Content Navigator
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Content Navigator & CMIS 2.0.3, 3.0.0, and 3.0.1 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 129577.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/11/2021
IBM Content Navigator and CMIS versions 2.0.3, 3.0.0, and 3.0.1 contain a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability that enables authenticated users to inject malicious JavaScript code into the web interface. This flaw resides in the application's handling of user-supplied input within the web user interface, where insufficient output encoding and input validation mechanisms fail to properly sanitize data before rendering in the browser context. The vulnerability specifically affects the CMIS (Content Management Interoperability Services) implementation within IBM Content Navigator, creating a pathway for attackers to execute arbitrary code within the context of a victim's browser session.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated users can manipulate input fields or parameters that are subsequently rendered without proper sanitization in the web application's user interface. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that can execute in the browser of authenticated users, potentially capturing session cookies, credentials, or other sensitive information transmitted within the trusted session. The flaw represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability where user input flows directly into the web response without appropriate encoding or validation measures. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications. The vulnerability's impact is significantly amplified because it requires only authenticated access, meaning that attackers with legitimate user credentials can exploit this weakness without requiring additional privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can lead to complete session hijacking and unauthorized access to sensitive content management systems. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can potentially access confidential documents, modify content, or perform administrative actions within the Content Navigator environment. The threat model aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers credential harvesting through social engineering and malicious web content. This vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited repeatedly as long as the attacker maintains valid authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where privileged users frequently interact with the content management system.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including input validation and output encoding measures to prevent malicious script injection, ensuring that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being rendered in the web interface. The recommended approach involves implementing strict content security policies, applying proper HTML encoding to all dynamic content, and validating all input parameters against whitelisted character sets. IBM has released patches and updates to address this vulnerability in affected versions, and organizations should prioritize applying these security updates. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on unusual patterns of user input that might indicate attempted XSS attacks. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the content management infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive protection against similar cross-site scripting threats.