CVE-2019-10177 in CloudForms
Summary
by MITRE
A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability was found in the PDF export component of CloudForms, versions 5.9 and 5.10, due to user input is not properly sanitized. An attacker with least privilege to edit compute is able to execute a XSS attack against other users, which could lead to malicious code execution and extraction of the anti-CSRF token of higher privileged users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/09/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2019-10177 represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within the CloudForms management platform, specifically affecting versions 5.9 and 5.10. This issue resides in the PDF export functionality where user-provided input fails to undergo proper sanitization before being rendered in exported documents. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that allow malicious payloads to be persistently stored and subsequently executed when other users view the generated PDF content. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it operates at the intersection of privilege escalation and client-side exploitation, creating a pathway for attackers to leverage limited access to achieve broader security breaches.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic stored XSS pattern where malicious input is first accepted and stored within the application's database or processing pipeline. When the PDF export feature generates documents containing this tainted data, the malicious script executes within the context of other users' browsers who view the exported content. This attack vector operates through the PDF export component's failure to properly escape or filter user input, allowing attackers to inject JavaScript code that persists across sessions and user interactions. The vulnerability specifically targets the anti-CSRF token extraction mechanism, making it particularly dangerous as it can compromise session integrity and enable further attacks against higher-privileged users.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-10177 extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to extract sensitive anti-CSRF tokens from authenticated sessions of higher-privileged users. This creates a significant risk for privilege escalation attacks where an attacker with minimal permissions can potentially escalate their access level through session hijacking or token theft. The vulnerability affects the broader CloudForms ecosystem by undermining the security boundaries between different user roles, particularly impacting the principle of least privilege. Organizations utilizing these affected versions face potential data breaches, unauthorized administrative actions, and complete compromise of user sessions, as the attack can be executed without requiring elevated privileges initially.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate input sanitization and output encoding within the PDF export component. The primary fix involves implementing comprehensive input validation and sanitization routines that properly escape or remove potentially malicious content before it is stored or rendered. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution within the application context and ensure that anti-CSRF tokens are not exposed through client-side rendering mechanisms. Additionally, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for scripting languages and T1531 for credential access through session hijacking. Regular security audits of export functionality and input validation processes should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other application components.