CVE-2017-8788 in FTA
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered on Accellion FTA devices before FTA_9_12_180. There is a CRLF vulnerability in settings_global_text_edit.php allowing ?display=x%0Dnewline attacks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8788 affects Accellion FTA (File Transfer Appliance) devices running firmware versions prior to FTA_9_12_180. This represents a critical security flaw that resides within the settings_global_text_edit.php component of the system. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to adequately filter or escape user-supplied data before processing. The specific weakness manifests as a CRLF (Carriage Return Line Feed) injection vulnerability, which allows attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through crafted input sequences containing newline characters.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the ?display=x%0Dnewline parameter manipulation where %0D represents the hexadecimal encoding for carriage return character. When an attacker crafts malicious input containing these CRLF sequences, the vulnerable application processes them without proper sanitization, potentially allowing for header injection attacks, session manipulation, or other malicious activities. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-113, which specifically addresses "Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences in HTTP Headers" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing via Social Engineering" as it can be leveraged to manipulate web application headers and potentially redirect users or inject malicious content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it could enable unauthorized users to manipulate application behavior and potentially gain elevated privileges or access sensitive information. Attackers could exploit this weakness to inject malicious content into HTTP responses, manipulate session cookies, or perform header injection attacks that might lead to cross-site scripting or other downstream security issues. The vulnerability affects the global text editing functionality, which suggests it could impact multiple system configurations and potentially compromise the integrity of critical system settings. This weakness represents a fundamental failure in input validation that could be exploited to undermine the security posture of the entire Accellion FTA appliance.
Organizations using affected Accellion FTA devices should immediately implement mitigations including updating to firmware version FTA_9_12_180 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing web application firewalls or intrusion prevention systems that can detect and block CRLF injection attempts. Input validation should be strengthened at all entry points to ensure that newline characters and other potentially dangerous sequences are properly escaped or filtered before processing. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other components of the system infrastructure. The remediation process should also include reviewing access controls and implementing proper authentication mechanisms to limit exposure to unauthorized individuals who might attempt to exploit this vulnerability.