CVE-2019-1882 in Industrial Network Director
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in Cisco Industrial Network Director could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of content submitted to the affected application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending requests containing malicious values to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to conduct XSS attacks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-1882 affects Cisco Industrial Network Director, a network management platform designed for industrial environments that requires authentication for access. This system serves as a critical component in managing and monitoring industrial networks, making it an attractive target for cyber adversaries seeking to compromise operational technology infrastructure. The flaw resides in the application's insufficient input validation mechanisms, which fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing or storage within the system. This weakness creates an environment where malicious actors can inject harmful scripts that persist within the application's database or storage mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of user inputs across various application interfaces within Cisco Industrial Network Director. When authenticated users submit data through forms, parameters, or other input mechanisms, the system fails to adequately validate or escape special characters that could be interpreted as executable script code. This improper validation allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that are then stored within the application's backend systems. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious content remains persistent and can be executed whenever legitimate users access the affected application components, creating a continuous threat vector.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to industrial network security and operational integrity. The ability to conduct stored cross-site scripting attacks enables attackers to potentially escalate privileges, access sensitive operational data, or manipulate network configurations through the compromised application interface. The authenticated nature of the attack means that adversaries must first obtain valid credentials, but once achieved, they can leverage this vulnerability to maintain persistent access and conduct further reconnaissance or attack activities. This threat is particularly concerning in industrial environments where network director systems control critical infrastructure components and where the consequences of successful exploitation could extend beyond traditional information technology impacts to operational technology disruptions.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications, and demonstrates how improper input validation can create persistent security weaknesses. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for credential access, as attackers can use the stored XSS to escalate privileges and maintain access to the industrial network management system. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches from Cisco, implementing additional input validation measures, and conducting thorough security assessments of all authenticated web interfaces within their industrial network environments. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should also be deployed to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts or unauthorized access to the affected system components.