CVE-2018-6936 in DIR-600M C1
Summary
by MITRE
Cross Site Scripting (XSS) exists on the D-Link DIR-600M C1 3.01 via the SSID or the name of a user account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-6936 represents a cross site scripting flaw affecting the D-Link DIR-600M C1 3.01 wireless router model. This issue stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the router's web interface administration panel. The vulnerability specifically manifests when users attempt to configure network settings through the SSID parameter or when creating or modifying user account names within the device management interface. The flaw allows malicious actors to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers who visit the affected administration pages.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross Site Scripting, which is classified as a critical security weakness in web applications. The vulnerability occurs because the router's web interface fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it back to the browser. When administrators or users enter data into the SSID field or user account name fields, the system does not adequately filter or encode special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. This creates an environment where attacker-controlled input can be executed as active content within the browser context of legitimate users.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to network security and user privacy. An attacker who gains access to the router's administration interface could potentially execute malicious scripts that steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or perform unauthorized configuration changes. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires minimal privileges to exploit, as the vulnerability exists in the configuration interface that is accessible to authenticated users. This could enable attackers to escalate their privileges or compromise the entire network infrastructure if they can manipulate the router's configuration settings.
The attack surface for this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution to include potential privilege escalation and persistent malicious activities. Network administrators who regularly access the router's web interface become targets for this type of attack, as the malicious scripts could remain active until the router is rebooted or the configuration is manually corrected. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that many users may not immediately notice when their router has been compromised, especially if the malicious scripts are designed to be subtle or perform actions that appear legitimate within the router's normal operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-6936 should focus on immediate firmware updates from D-Link, as the vendor would have likely released patches addressing this specific vulnerability. Organizations should also implement network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, and establish regular security audits of network device configurations. Network segmentation and access control measures can help limit the potential damage if an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability. Additionally, administrators should enforce strict input validation policies for all network management interfaces and consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and prevent XSS attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input sanitization and output encoding practices, which align with the defensive measures recommended by the ATT&CK framework for preventing web-based attacks.