CVE-2019-15973 in Industrial Network Director
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Industrial Network Director (IND) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the interface of an affected application. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface of an affected application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the affected interface or access sensitive, browser-based information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-15973 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Cisco Industrial Network Director's web-based management interface, demonstrating a fundamental weakness in input validation mechanisms that exposes industrial network management systems to remote exploitation. This vulnerability resides in the web application layer of the Industrial Network Director platform, which is designed to provide centralized management and monitoring capabilities for industrial network infrastructure. The flaw specifically manifests when the application fails to adequately validate or sanitize user-supplied input received through web requests, creating an attack vector that can be exploited by unauthenticated remote adversaries without requiring any prior access credentials or privileged positions within the network environment.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a classic XSS attack pattern where an attacker crafts malicious web content or links that, when clicked by an unsuspecting user interacting with the affected web interface, executes arbitrary JavaScript code within the victim's browser context. This occurs because the web application does not properly implement input sanitization or output encoding mechanisms to prevent malicious scripts from being interpreted as legitimate content. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script execution, as it can potentially allow attackers to access sensitive browser-based information, manipulate the user interface, steal session cookies, or redirect users to malicious sites. The attack requires social engineering to convince a legitimate user to click on the malicious link, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple administrators interact with the management interface.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to industrial control systems that rely on Cisco Industrial Network Director for network management and monitoring. The exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to critical network configuration data, disruption of network management operations, or potential lateral movement within the industrial network infrastructure. The fact that this vulnerability affects the management interface means that successful exploitation could provide attackers with insights into network topology, device configurations, and operational parameters that could be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks against the underlying industrial control systems. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for phishing, as the attack vector relies on user interaction and social engineering elements.
Organizations implementing Cisco Industrial Network Director should prioritize immediate remediation through official Cisco security advisories and patches that address the input validation deficiencies in the web interface. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of implementing proper input validation mechanisms and output encoding as recommended by CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities through inadequate input validation. Security controls should include network segmentation to limit access to the management interface, implementation of web application firewalls to detect and block malicious requests, and regular security assessments of web-based management interfaces. Additionally, user awareness training should be implemented to reduce the effectiveness of social engineering components of this attack, as the vulnerability requires user interaction to be successfully exploited, making human factors an essential consideration in the overall security posture.