CVE-2017-5599 in Patient Portal
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in eClinicalWorks Patient Portal 7.0 build 13. This is a reflected Cross Site Scripting vulnerability which affects the raceMasterList.jsp page within the Patient Portal. Inserted payload is rendered within the Patient Portal and the raceMasterList.jsp page does not require authentication. The vulnerability can be used to extract sensitive information or perform attacks against the user's browser. The vulnerability affects the raceMasterList.jsp page and the following parameter: race.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-5599 represents a critical reflected cross site scripting flaw within the eClinicalWorks Patient Portal version 7.0 build 13. This security weakness resides in the raceMasterList.jsp page which operates without requiring user authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by any attacker without prior authorization. The vulnerability specifically targets the race parameter, which when manipulated allows malicious code injection into the web application's response. This reflected XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices, where user-supplied data flows directly into the application's response without proper sanitization mechanisms. The absence of authentication requirements for the vulnerable page significantly amplifies the risk as it removes any barriers that might otherwise prevent unauthorized exploitation, allowing attackers to directly target the application's interface.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability enables attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute within the victim's browser context when the affected page is accessed. The reflected nature of this XSS means that the malicious payload must be crafted to appear in the application's response, typically through manipulated URL parameters that get echoed back to the user. When a victim clicks on a maliciously crafted link containing the XSS payload, the script executes in their browser and can perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can serve as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks, potentially allowing adversaries to establish persistent access or extract sensitive data from the user's session. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross site scripting flaws and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection, demonstrating how such vulnerabilities can be leveraged for initial access and privilege escalation within targeted environments.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-5599 within healthcare environments presents significant risks due to the sensitive nature of patient portal data and the potential for unauthorized access to medical records. Since the vulnerability affects a page that handles demographic information including race data, attackers could potentially manipulate this data to gather intelligence about patient populations or exploit the vulnerability to access other sensitive information within the portal. The lack of authentication requirements means that this vulnerability could be exploited at scale without requiring any credentials, making it particularly attractive to threat actors. Organizations using eClinicalWorks Patient Portal version 7.0 build 13 face potential data breaches, compliance violations, and reputational damage if this vulnerability remains unpatched. The vulnerability could enable attackers to perform session management attacks, redirect users to phishing sites, or inject malicious content that could compromise the integrity of the patient portal. Given that healthcare portals often contain PHI (Protected Health Information) and other sensitive data, this vulnerability could lead to violations of HIPAA regulations and other data protection standards. Mitigation efforts should include immediate patching of the affected application, implementation of input validation controls, and deployment of web application firewalls to detect and prevent such attacks. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious parameter values in URL requests, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the organization's web applications. The vulnerability's classification as a reflected XSS attack also necessitates implementation of proper HTTP headers including Content Security Policy to prevent unauthorized script execution and reduce the attack surface for similar vulnerabilities.