CVE-2019-16878 in Portainer
Summary
by MITRE
Portainer before 1.22.1 has XSS (issue 2 of 2).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2024
Portainer is a popular open-source container management platform that provides a web-based interface for managing docker environments. The vulnerability CVE-2019-16878 represents a cross-site scripting flaw that affects versions prior to 1.22.1, specifically categorized as a second issue within a broader vulnerability report. This vulnerability exists in the application's handling of user-provided input within the context of web page rendering, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject client-side scripts into the application's user interface.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output encoding within Portainer's web interface components. When users interact with the application's management features, particularly those involving container names, labels, or other user-editable fields, the application fails to properly escape or validate special characters in the input data. This flaw allows attackers to inject malicious javascript code that executes within the context of other users' browser sessions, leveraging the trust relationship between the user and the application. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited through various vectors including container management operations, configuration settings, and user profile modifications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking. An attacker who successfully exploits this XSS flaw can potentially perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, access sensitive container configurations, extract stored credentials, or manipulate the application's behavior to redirect users to malicious sites. The attack surface is broad since Portainer is commonly used in enterprise environments where users have elevated privileges and access to critical containerized applications. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-79 which defines cross-site scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is embedded into web pages without proper validation or encoding. The exploitation could enable attackers to escalate privileges within the container environment and potentially compromise the entire container orchestration platform.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-16878 involve immediate patching of Portainer installations to version 1.22.1 or later, which includes proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as content security policies to limit script execution, regular security audits of web applications, and user input sanitization practices. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation in web applications and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for scripting languages and T1566 for credential access through web application attacks. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of their container management platforms and ensure all web applications implement proper sanitization of user inputs to prevent similar issues in the future.