CVE-2019-20379 in Ganglia-web
Summary
by MITRE
ganglia-web (aka Ganglia Web Frontend) through 3.7.5 allows XSS via the header.php cs parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-20379 affects ganglia-web, a widely used web frontend for the Ganglia monitoring system that enables administrators to visualize and analyze system performance metrics across distributed computing environments. This particular flaw exists in versions up to and including 3.7.5 of the web interface, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on Ganglia for infrastructure monitoring. The vulnerability manifests as a cross-site scripting vulnerability within the header.php file, specifically in how the cs parameter is processed, which creates an attack surface that could be exploited by malicious actors to compromise monitoring environments.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the ganglia-web frontend application. When the cs parameter is passed to the header.php script without proper sanitization, it allows attacker-controlled data to be directly embedded into the web page's HTML output. This occurs because the application fails to properly escape or filter user-supplied input before rendering it in the browser context. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or escaping mechanisms. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires minimal privileges to exploit, making it accessible to both authenticated and unauthenticated attackers who can manipulate the cs parameter through URL manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution within the browser context, as it provides attackers with the capability to perform various malicious activities within the monitoring environment. An attacker could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, inject malicious scripts that could compromise the monitoring system's integrity, or even exfiltrate sensitive monitoring data from the web frontend. Given that Ganglia web interfaces are often deployed in enterprise environments where they may be accessible to various user groups including both administrators and regular users, the potential for exploitation increases significantly. The vulnerability could be leveraged to gain unauthorized access to monitoring data, manipulate system performance metrics, or establish persistent access points within the monitored infrastructure, particularly when the web frontend is exposed to untrusted networks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-20379 should prioritize immediate patching of affected installations to version 3.7.6 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the cross-site scripting vulnerability. Organizations should implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the header.php script to ensure that all user-supplied parameters are properly sanitized before being rendered in the browser context. Network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit exposure of the Ganglia web interface to trusted networks only, while also implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious parameter injection attempts. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the monitoring infrastructure, with particular attention to input handling patterns that could lead to XSS conditions. Additionally, implementing content security policies and disabling unnecessary features in the web interface can further reduce the attack surface and provide defense-in-depth measures against exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization in web applications and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, as exploitation could enable attackers to execute malicious code within the browser context of the monitoring interface.