CVE-2018-1229 in Spring Batch Admin
Summary
by MITRE
Pivotal Spring Batch Admin, all versions, contains a stored XSS vulnerability in the file upload feature. An unauthenticated malicious user with network access to Spring Batch Admin could store an arbitrary web script that would be executed by other users. This issue has not been patched because Spring Batch Admin has reached end of life.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1229 affects Pivotal Spring Batch Admin, a web-based administration tool for managing batch processing jobs within spring applications. This tool provides a user interface for monitoring and controlling batch jobs, making it a critical component in enterprise batch processing environments. The vulnerability exists within the file upload functionality of the application, which allows users to upload various file types for processing within the batch framework.
The technical flaw represents a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input during file upload operations. When a malicious actor uploads a specially crafted file containing malicious javascript code, this content gets stored on the server and subsequently executed whenever other users access the file through the web interface. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it does not require authentication to exploit, making it accessible to any user with network access to the Spring Batch Admin application. The flaw aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or encoding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations using Spring Batch Admin, as it creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited by attackers to compromise user sessions, steal sensitive data, or perform unauthorized actions within the application. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once a malicious script is uploaded and stored on the server, it will execute automatically whenever legitimate users access the affected functionality. This could lead to session hijacking, data exfiltration, or the execution of arbitrary commands on the server, depending on the privileges of the affected users and the underlying infrastructure.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement network-level mitigations such as restricting access to the Spring Batch Admin interface through firewalls and access control lists to limit exposure to trusted networks only. Additionally, implementing strict input validation and sanitization measures for all file upload operations can help prevent malicious content from being stored within the application. Given that Spring Batch Admin has reached end of life, organizations should plan migration to supported alternatives such as Spring Boot Admin or other modern batch processing administration tools that receive regular security updates. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and avoiding the use of deprecated software components that no longer receive security patches, as referenced in the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for legacy system vulnerabilities.