CVE-2019-15510 in Desktop Central
Summary
by MITRE
ManageEngine_DesktopCentral.exe in Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central 10 allows HTML injection on the user administration page via the description of a role.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/10/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-15510 affects Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central version 10, specifically targeting the ManageEngine_DesktopCentral.exe component. This issue manifests as an HTML injection flaw within the user administration page functionality, where attackers can manipulate the role description field to inject malicious HTML content. The vulnerability resides in the input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within the web interface. This particular weakness enables malicious actors to exploit the administrative interface and potentially execute unauthorized actions within the system. The vulnerability operates by bypassing standard security controls that should prevent HTML content from being processed in user-facing administrative sections, creating an avenue for cross-site scripting attacks and unauthorized privilege escalation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of input parameters within the role description field of the user administration module. When administrators or users input data into the description field, the application fails to properly validate or escape HTML characters, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that can be executed in the context of other users' browsers. This represents a classic HTML injection vulnerability that can be categorized under CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation. The flaw specifically impacts the web-based administrative interface of Desktop Central, where role descriptions are rendered without proper HTML escaping, creating a persistent cross-site scripting vector that can be exploited by authenticated users with appropriate privileges. The vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation practices and inadequate output encoding that violates fundamental web security principles.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-15510 extends beyond simple HTML injection, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, privilege escalation, and potential data exfiltration. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can manipulate the user administration interface to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other administrators or users. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive system information, modification of user roles and permissions, or even complete system compromise depending on the privileges of the affected users. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on role-based access control within their desktop management infrastructure, as it undermines the integrity of the administrative interface. Attackers could leverage this weakness to create backdoor accounts, modify existing user permissions, or redirect users to malicious sites. The impact is further exacerbated by the fact that this vulnerability exists within a core administrative component, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges and gain deeper access to the managed desktop environment.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-15510 should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the affected application. Organizations should ensure that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being rendered in web interfaces, implementing strict HTML escaping and content security policies. The recommended approach involves applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates as soon as they become available, while also implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Security controls should include web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious HTML injection attempts, along with regular security assessments of the administrative interfaces. Organizations should also implement principle of least privilege controls, ensuring that administrative accounts have minimal necessary permissions and that role descriptions are properly validated. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 - Command and Scripting Interpreter for web-based attacks, and T1078 - Valid Accounts for privilege escalation. Regular security awareness training for administrators is also recommended to prevent social engineering attacks that might exploit this vulnerability. The implementation of comprehensive logging and monitoring of administrative activities can help detect unauthorized modifications to role descriptions and potential exploitation attempts.