CVE-2017-6675 in Industrial Network Director
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web interface of Cisco Industrial Network Director could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against an affected system. More Information: CSCvd25405. Known Affected Releases: 1.1(0.176).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-6675 resides within the web interface of Cisco Industrial Network Director version 1.1(0.176) and represents a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw that exposes the system to unauthenticated remote attackers. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a prime target for malicious actors seeking to exploit web application security weaknesses. The affected Cisco Industrial Network Director product serves as a centralized management platform for industrial network environments, making its web interface a critical attack surface for potential adversaries targeting operational technology infrastructure.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves the web interface failing to properly sanitize user-supplied input parameters before reflecting them back to the browser in HTTP responses. When an attacker crafts a malicious URL containing crafted script payloads and delivers it to a victim user who is authenticated to the Industrial Network Director web interface, the malicious script executes in the victim's browser context. This reflected XSS attack occurs because the application does not adequately validate or escape input data that is subsequently rendered in web pages, allowing attacker-controlled code to be executed within the victim's browser session. The vulnerability specifically affects the web interface components that process HTTP request parameters, making it particularly dangerous given that the web interface is designed for remote access and management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to manipulate the web interface functionality and potentially escalate privileges within the industrial network management environment. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, deface the web interface, or even execute more sophisticated attacks such as session hijacking or credential theft. The implications are particularly severe in industrial settings where the Industrial Network Director manages critical infrastructure components, as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to network configurations, device management capabilities, and potentially compromise the entire industrial control system. According to the ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to techniques such as T1059.007 for scripting and T1566 for spearphishing with attachments, demonstrating how this flaw can serve as a foundational entry point for more complex attack chains.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-6675 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Cisco Industrial Network Director installations to version 1.1(0.177) or later, which contains the necessary security fixes to address the reflected XSS vulnerability. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to the Industrial Network Director web interface to authorized personnel only, while enforcing strong access controls and monitoring for suspicious web traffic patterns. Additional protective measures include deploying web application firewalls to filter malicious input and implementing content security policies to prevent unauthorized script execution. Security teams should conduct regular vulnerability assessments of industrial network management systems and establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation and output encoding practices in web applications, particularly in operational technology environments where the consequences of security breaches can extend beyond traditional information technology concerns into physical system compromise.