CVE-2018-0565 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting vulnerability in Cybozu Office 10.0.0 to 10.8.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/21/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-0565 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Cybozu Office versions 10.0.0 through 10.8.0. This security weakness enables remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected systems, potentially compromising user sessions and data integrity. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application's web interface components. Cybozu Office is a comprehensive business collaboration platform that includes document management, workflow automation, and communication tools, making it a prime target for attackers seeking persistent access to corporate environments.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs through unspecified vectors within the application's processing of user-supplied data. Attackers can craft malicious payloads that exploit the lack of proper sanitization when handling input parameters or content that gets rendered back to users. This flaw typically manifests when user-controllable data is directly embedded into web pages without adequate encoding or filtering. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. The attack surface extends to any functionality within Cybozu Office that accepts user input and subsequently displays it to other users, including but not limited to comment fields, document titles, or user profile information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it provides attackers with multiple attack vectors for executing malicious code within user browsers. Successful exploitation could lead to session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, or the deployment of additional malware through browser-based attacks. The remote nature of this vulnerability means attackers do not require physical access to systems or network privileges to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Cybozu Office is widely deployed. Organizations using affected versions face increased risk of data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive business information, potentially violating compliance requirements under regulations such as gdpr, hipaa, or soc 2. The vulnerability also enables attackers to perform persistent attacks through malicious scripts that can remain active until the user closes their browser session or the application is updated.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-0565 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Cybozu Office installations to versions that address the XSS vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout their web applications to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. The principle of least privilege should be enforced when configuring Cybozu Office applications, limiting the scope of potential damage from successful attacks. Security teams should conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and remediate similar weaknesses in their web applications. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection against XSS attacks. Organizations should also implement user education programs to raise awareness about phishing and social engineering attacks that may leverage XSS vulnerabilities. The remediation process should follow established security frameworks and guidelines such as those provided by the owasp project which offers comprehensive guidance for preventing cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. Regular security monitoring and incident response procedures should be established to quickly detect and respond to exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability.