CVE-2019-8233 in Magento
Summary
by MITRE
In Magento 2.2 prior to 2.2.10, Magento 2.3 prior to 2.3.3 or 2.3.2-p1, an unauthenticated user can inject arbitrary JavaScript code as a result of the sanitization engine ignoring HTML comments.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-8233 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in Magento e-commerce platforms that affects multiple versions including Magento 2.2 prior to 2.2.10 and Magento 2.3 prior to 2.3.3 or 2.3.2-p1. This security weakness stems from an insufficient sanitization engine that fails to properly handle HTML comments, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code without requiring authentication. The flaw resides in the platform's content filtering mechanisms that are designed to prevent malicious code execution but inadvertently permit JavaScript injection through HTML comment structures that should be neutralized.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the Magento sanitization engine processes user input or content that includes HTML comments containing JavaScript code. The sanitization process fails to properly strip or escape HTML comment delimiters, which allows attackers to embed malicious scripts within comment sections that are then executed in the context of other users' browsers. This behavior directly violates the principle of secure input validation and demonstrates a failure in the application's defense-in-depth strategy. The vulnerability specifically aligns with CWE-79 which catalogs Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and more specifically maps to CWE-74 which addresses injection flaws where attackers can inject code through improper handling of untrusted data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple script injection, creating substantial risk for Magento deployments that handle sensitive customer data and financial transactions. An unauthenticated attacker can leverage this flaw to execute malicious JavaScript code in the context of any user who views affected content, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, or redirection to malicious sites. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication, making it accessible to anyone who can interact with the Magento platform. This vulnerability can be exploited to compromise customer sessions, manipulate transaction data, and potentially gain access to backend administrative functions through session manipulation or credential harvesting.
Organizations affected by CVE-2019-8233 should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to the patched versions of Magento 2.2.10, 2.3.3, or 2.3.2-p1 as recommended by the vendor. The patch addresses the sanitization engine's handling of HTML comments by ensuring proper escaping and removal of comment structures that could contain malicious code. Additional defensive measures include implementing web application firewalls with rules specifically designed to detect and block HTML comment injection patterns, deploying content security policies to restrict script execution, and conducting thorough code reviews of input validation mechanisms. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 which covers scripting through web shells and T1566 which covers credential harvesting through social engineering and malicious web content. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.