CVE-2019-19394 in CFEngine Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
Northern.tech CFEngine Enterprise before 3.10.7, 3.11.x and 3.12.x before 3.12.3, 3.13.x, and 3.14.x allows XSS. This is fixed in 3.10.7, 3.12.3, and 3.15.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/17/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-19394 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within Northern.tech CFEngine Enterprise software across multiple version ranges. This security weakness affects versions prior to 3.10.7, 3.12.3, and 3.15.0, exposing systems that rely on CFEngine's configuration management capabilities to potential exploitation. The issue manifests as an XSS vulnerability that could be leveraged by malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of affected web interfaces.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the web-based administrative interfaces of CFEngine Enterprise. When user-supplied data is processed and rendered without proper sanitization, it creates opportunities for attackers to inject malicious script code that executes in the browsers of authenticated users. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. The flaw typically occurs when applications fail to properly escape special characters in user input before rendering it in web pages, allowing script execution contexts to be established.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform a range of malicious activities including session hijacking, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the affected systems. Given that CFEngine Enterprise is designed for configuration management and system administration, successful exploitation could allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to critical infrastructure management interfaces. This poses significant risks to organizations that depend on CFEngine for maintaining their IT infrastructure configurations and security policies. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects multiple release branches, indicating a systemic issue in the codebase that required patching across several version lines.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate deployment of patches released by Northern.tech, specifically versions 3.10.7, 3.12.3, and 3.15.0 which contain the necessary fixes. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as web application firewalls, input validation controls, and regular security assessments of the CFEngine interfaces. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patched environments to ensure that the XSS vulnerability has been properly addressed without introducing regressions in functionality. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures for handling such vulnerabilities. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 which covers scripting through web shells and similar techniques that leverage XSS vulnerabilities to establish persistent access to web-based management interfaces.