CVE-2019-19856 in Serpico
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Serpico (aka SimplE RePort wrIting and CollaboratiOn tool) 1.3.0. The User Type on the admin/list_user page allows stored XSS via the type parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-19856 resides within Serpico version 1.3.0, an open-source security reporting tool designed to facilitate collaborative security assessments and report writing. This tool serves security professionals in documenting findings and sharing reports within organizations, making its security paramount to protect against unauthorized access and data compromise. The vulnerability specifically affects the administrative functionality of the application, particularly the user management interface where administrators can view and modify user types within the system.
The technical flaw manifests as a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the admin/list_user page of Serpico. When an administrator navigates to this page, the application displays user information including user types, which are rendered directly from user input without proper sanitization or encoding. The type parameter, which represents the user role or classification within the system, can be manipulated by an attacker to inject malicious script code. This stored XSS vulnerability occurs because the application fails to validate or sanitize user-supplied input before storing it in the database and subsequently rendering it in the web interface. When other users, particularly administrators, view the affected page, the malicious script executes in their browser context, potentially allowing attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions, or redirect users to malicious sites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations using Serpico, as it provides attackers with a potential entry point to compromise the administrative interface and gain elevated privileges. Since the vulnerability is stored in the database, the malicious payload persists even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over time. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges, modify user permissions, or gain access to sensitive security reports and findings. The stored nature of the XSS means that even users who do not immediately interact with the affected page could be compromised when they later view the user list, creating a persistent threat vector. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-79, which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a common weakness in web applications where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages. The attack surface is further expanded by the fact that administrators often have elevated privileges within the application, making successful exploitation potentially devastating.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding throughout the application's user management functionality. The most effective immediate fix involves sanitizing all user-supplied input, particularly the type parameter, before storing it in the database and ensuring that any stored values are properly encoded when rendered in the user interface. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and prevent unauthorized code from running within the application context. Regular security updates and patches should be applied to Serpico to address this vulnerability, and administrators should be educated about the risks of accepting untrusted input in administrative interfaces. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and conducting regular security assessments of web applications to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors. Organizations using Serpico should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious input patterns that could indicate attempts to exploit this or similar vulnerabilities.