CVE-2017-3153 in Atlas
Summary
by MITRE
Apache Atlas versions 0.6.0-incubating and 0.7.0-incubating were found vulnerable to Reflected XSS in the search functionality.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2021
Apache Atlas version 0.6.0-incubating and 0.7.0-incubating contained a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability within their search functionality that could allow remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into web responses. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and represents a critical security flaw in the enterprise metadata management platform. The vulnerability occurred when user input from search queries was not properly sanitized before being reflected back to the user interface, creating an opportunity for attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of the victim's browser.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involved the search endpoint failing to validate and escape user-supplied input parameters before incorporating them into HTML responses. When a user performed a search operation, the application would directly embed search terms into web pages without proper output encoding or sanitization. This allowed attackers to craft malicious search queries containing script tags or other XSS payloads that would execute when other users viewed the search results page. The reflected nature of the vulnerability meant that the malicious script was not stored on the server but rather reflected back to the user through the web application's response.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was significant for organizations using Apache Atlas, as it could enable attackers to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, or redirect victims to malicious websites. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, access sensitive metadata, or compromise the entire Atlas instance. The vulnerability affected both versions mentioned in the CVE, indicating it was present in the codebase for a substantial period and likely exploited in the wild. Organizations relying on Atlas for data governance and metadata management faced potential exposure of their data catalog information and metadata assets.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability included immediate patching of affected versions to 0.8.0 or later, which contained the necessary input validation and output encoding fixes. Security teams should implement proper input sanitization techniques, including HTML escaping of all user-supplied content before rendering in web responses. Additional protective measures included implementing Content Security Policy headers, using parameterized queries for search functionality, and conducting regular security testing of web applications. The vulnerability also highlighted the importance of secure coding practices and input validation in enterprise metadata management systems, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter usage. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious search patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.