CVE-2017-3155 in Atlas
Summary
by MITRE
Apache Atlas versions 0.6.0-incubating and 0.7.0-incubating were found vulnerable to cross frame scripting.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/11/2019
Apache Atlas version 0.6.0-incubating and 0.7.0-incubating suffered from a cross-frame scripting vulnerability that exposed the system to potential exploitation through malicious frame injection attacks. This vulnerability falls under the category of insecure cross-domain scripting flaws that can be categorized as CWE-79, which represents cross-site scripting attacks. The flaw manifested when the application failed to properly validate or sanitize frame embedding requests, allowing attackers to inject malicious content into the application's frame context. This particular vulnerability was classified as a client-side security weakness that could be exploited through web browser-based attacks, making it particularly dangerous in environments where Atlas was used for data governance and metadata management.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stemmed from inadequate security controls in the application's frame handling mechanisms. When Atlas rendered content within frames or iframes, it did not properly enforce security policies that would prevent unauthorized frame embedding or content injection. This allowed malicious actors to craft specially crafted web requests that could force the application to load content within a frame context, potentially enabling attackers to execute malicious scripts or steal sensitive information through frame-based attacks. The vulnerability specifically impacted the user interface components that handled dynamic content rendering and frame-based navigation within the Atlas web application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was significant for organizations relying on Apache Atlas for enterprise metadata management and data governance. Attackers exploiting this weakness could potentially perform session hijacking, steal user credentials, or execute arbitrary code within the context of the authenticated user's browser session. The vulnerability created an attack surface that could be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft or privilege escalation, particularly when combined with other vulnerabilities or social engineering techniques. Organizations using Atlas in production environments were at risk of data exposure and potential system compromise through this cross-frame scripting flaw.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involved implementing proper frame security controls and content security policy enforcement. Organizations should have updated to patched versions of Apache Atlas that addressed the cross-frame scripting issue, typically through the implementation of frame-busting techniques and proper content security policy headers. The recommended approach included configuring the application to use the X-Frame-Options header with restrictive values such as DENY or SAMEORIGIN, preventing unauthorized frame embedding. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) directives would help prevent malicious frame injection attempts and ensure that only trusted sources could embed Atlas content within frames, aligning with industry best practices for web application security and addressing the specific ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection vulnerabilities.