CVE-2017-17995 in Biometric Shift Employee Management System
Summary
by MITRE
Biometric Shift Employee Management System has XSS via the Last_Name parameter in an index.php?user=ajax request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/18/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-17995 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the Biometric Shift Employee Management System, specifically manifesting through the Last_Name parameter in index.php?user=ajax requests. This system, designed for employee attendance and shift management, suffers from insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms that allow malicious actors to inject arbitrary script code into the web application's response. The vulnerability exists in the parameter handling logic where user-supplied data is directly incorporated into dynamic web content without proper encoding or validation measures.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts a malicious payload containing javascript code within the Last_Name parameter value. When the system processes this input and displays it in the web interface, the embedded script executes within the context of other users' browsers who view the affected page. This creates a persistent XSS vector that can be leveraged to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability specifically affects the ajax user management functionality, suggesting that the system's user interface relies on dynamic content updates that incorporate user data directly into html output streams.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to the integrity and security of the employee management system. An attacker could exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to employee data, manipulate shift schedules, or establish persistent access to the system through session hijacking. The impact extends beyond simple data theft as the vulnerability enables privilege escalation attacks where malicious scripts could modify user permissions or access restricted administrative functions. The persistent nature of XSS vulnerabilities means that once exploited, the malicious code can continue to affect users until the input is properly sanitized or the vulnerability is patched.
Security professionals should address this vulnerability by implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's data flow. The recommended mitigation strategies include implementing strict parameter validation that rejects or sanitizes potentially malicious input characters, applying proper html encoding to all user-supplied data before rendering in web pages, and implementing content security policies to prevent unauthorized script execution. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security scanning to detect similar vulnerabilities in other system components. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which classifies cross-site scripting as a critical weakness in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious web content. The remediation process should involve thorough code review of all parameter handling mechanisms and implementation of secure coding practices that prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in future development cycles.