CVE-2018-15903 in Discuss Module
Summary
by MITRE
The Discuss v1.2.1 module in Claromentis 8.2.2 is vulnerable to stored Cross Site Scripting (XSS). An authenticated attacker will be able to place malicious JavaScript in the discussion forum, which is present in the login landing page. A low privilege user can use this to steal the session cookies from high privilege accounts and hijack these, enabling them to hijack the elevated session and perform actions in their security context.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15903 represents a critical stored cross site scripting flaw within the Discuss module of Claromentis version 8.2.2. This vulnerability specifically affects the discussion forum functionality where user inputs are not properly sanitized before being stored and subsequently rendered to other users. The flaw exists in the module version 1.2.1 and demonstrates a classic stored XSS attack vector that allows malicious actors to inject persistent JavaScript code into the application's data storage. The vulnerability's severity is amplified by its location within a core business application module that handles user-generated content and forum interactions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Claromentis platform. When authenticated users submit content to the discussion forum, the application fails to adequately sanitize the input data before storing it in the database. This allows an attacker to embed malicious JavaScript payloads within forum posts, comments, or discussion threads. The stored payload executes whenever other users view the affected content, particularly when the forum content appears on the login landing page where high privilege users frequently access the application. The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-79 which defines the weakness of insufficient output encoding or filtering of user-controllable data, making it susceptible to cross site scripting attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, creating a significant risk for privilege escalation and session hijacking within the Claromentis environment. Low privilege users can exploit this vulnerability to inject JavaScript code that specifically targets session cookies of higher privilege accounts. When these elevated users access the application and view the compromised forum content, their browsers execute the malicious script which can steal session tokens and transmit them to the attacker's server. This enables the attacker to impersonate the elevated user accounts and perform actions within their security context, potentially gaining access to sensitive business data, administrative functions, or other restricted system resources. The attack requires only a single compromised forum post to maintain persistent access, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on Claromentis for business operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-15903 should prioritize immediate patching of the Claromentis application to the latest available version that addresses this specific vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive input sanitization and output encoding controls across all user-generated content fields within the application, particularly in forum and discussion modules. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against malicious script execution even if the primary vulnerability is not fully patched. Regular security assessments should include thorough testing of all user input fields for XSS vulnerabilities, with particular attention to areas where content is rendered on high-visibility pages such as login landing screens. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual data exfiltration patterns that might indicate session cookie theft attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1548.002 for abuse of group privileges and T1566.001 for spearphishing with malicious attachments highlights the need for multi-layered defense approaches including user education and network security controls. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls specifically configured to detect and block XSS attack patterns targeting forum and content management modules.