CVE-2018-12901 in Mitel
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the conferencing component of Mitel ST 14.2, versions GA29 (19.49.9400.0) and earlier, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to conduct a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) attack due to insufficient validation for the signin.php page. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary scripts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-12901 resides within the conferencing component of Mitel ST 14.2 software, specifically affecting versions up to and including GA29 (19.49.9400.0). This issue represents a critical security flaw that undermines the application's ability to properly validate user input, creating an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate the system through web-based attacks. The affected signin.php page serves as the primary entry point for this vulnerability, where insufficient input sanitization allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that can be executed within the context of other users' browsers.
This reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability operates by tricking users into clicking malicious links that contain crafted script payloads within URL parameters. When victims navigate to these specially crafted URLs, the web application reflects the malicious script back to the user's browser without proper sanitization or encoding. The vulnerability stems from inadequate validation mechanisms that fail to properly filter or escape user-supplied input before it is processed and returned to the client. This flaw aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in web applications, and demonstrates the classic pattern of reflected XSS where the malicious payload is reflected from the web server back to the user's browser.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive information, manipulate web page content, or redirect users to malicious websites. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, particularly those with elevated privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The reflected nature of the attack means that the malicious script is not stored on the server but rather injected through the web application's response, making it particularly difficult to detect and prevent through traditional security measures.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to the ATT&CK framework's technique T1566, which encompasses social engineering tactics including the use of malicious links to exploit web application vulnerabilities. The attack vector typically involves phishing campaigns or manipulation of legitimate web traffic to deliver malicious payloads that exploit the XSS vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent such attacks, while also deploying web application firewalls and security headers to mitigate the risk. The vulnerability underscores the importance of regular security assessments and timely patch management, as the affected Mitel ST 14.2 versions were released prior to the implementation of proper XSS protection measures that are now considered standard industry practices for web application security.