CVE-2018-2479 in Business Intelligence
Summary
by MITRE
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform (BIWorkspace), versions 4.1 and 4.2, does not sufficiently encode user-controlled inputs, resulting in Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/12/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2479 affects SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform BIWorkspace versions 4.1 and 4.2, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the platform's input validation mechanisms. This issue stems from insufficient encoding of user-controlled data within the web interface components, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary script code into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability specifically targets the platform's handling of user inputs in web-based interfaces, where data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in browser contexts.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when the BIWorkspace application fails to adequately encode special characters and script tags in user-supplied data. This weakness allows attackers to submit malicious payloads through various input fields within the platform's web interface, including but not limited to report parameters, search queries, or user-defined content. When the application processes these inputs without proper sanitization, the encoded malicious scripts execute within the browser context of authenticated users, potentially compromising their sessions and access privileges. The vulnerability manifests as a classic reflected XSS attack vector, where the malicious input is immediately reflected back to the user's browser without proper output encoding.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-2479 extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to leverage the compromised user sessions for more sophisticated attacks. An attacker could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, deface the platform's web interface, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. Given that SAP BusinessObjects BIPlatform serves as a critical business intelligence tool for enterprises, this vulnerability could allow unauthorized access to sensitive business data, financial reports, and strategic information. The attack surface is particularly concerning as the platform typically requires elevated privileges for access, making successful exploitation potentially devastating for enterprise security posture.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding mechanisms, as recommended by the CWE-79 standard which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique under T1059.001 - Command and Scripting Interpreter, where attackers exploit XSS vulnerabilities to execute malicious scripts. SAP has released patches and updates addressing this vulnerability in subsequent versions of the BIPlatform, and organizations should prioritize upgrading to patched versions. Additional defensive measures include implementing Content Security Policy headers, disabling unnecessary script execution in web interfaces, and conducting regular security assessments of web applications to identify similar encoding flaws that could enable similar attack vectors.