CVE-2020-9299 in Dispatch
Summary
by MITRE • 11/09/2020
There were XSS vulnerabilities discovered and reported in the Dispatch application, affecting name and description parameters of Incident Priority, Incident Type, Tag Type, and Incident Filter. This vulnerability can be exploited by an authenticated user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/04/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-9299 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the Dispatch application that specifically targets parameter handling in critical incident management functions. This vulnerability affects four distinct parameter types including name and description fields associated with Incident Priority, Incident Type, Tag Type, and Incident Filter components. The flaw exists in the application's input validation and output encoding mechanisms, creating opportunities for malicious actors to inject malicious scripts into the application's response. The vulnerability requires authentication to exploit, which means that only users with valid credentials can potentially leverage this weakness, but this does not mitigate the risk given that legitimate users may have elevated privileges or access to sensitive data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input data before rendering it in the application's user interface. When administrators or authorized users modify the name or description fields for incident management components, the application fails to properly encode or escape special characters that could be interpreted as executable script code by web browsers. This weakness allows attackers to inject malicious javascript code that executes in the context of other users' browsers when they view the affected pages. The vulnerability manifests in the application's handling of these specific parameter types where user input flows directly into HTML output without appropriate security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation. An authenticated attacker could craft malicious payloads that would execute in the browser context of other users with potentially higher privileges, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive incident data, modification of critical system configurations, or even complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects core incident management functionality, which means that attackers could manipulate the application's behavior to hide malicious activities or disrupt normal operational procedures. This risk is particularly concerning in security operations centers where Dispatch applications are used for critical incident response and management.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-9299 should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach involves implementing comprehensive sanitization of all user-supplied input data before rendering it in the application interface, utilizing established libraries and frameworks that provide automatic HTML escaping. Organizations should also implement content security policies to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts and establish proper access controls to minimize the impact of potential exploitation. Additionally, regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a typical example of how insufficient input validation can lead to dangerous security implications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the technique of "Cross-site Scripting" with potential for privilege escalation and data theft, making it a significant concern for organizations implementing security monitoring and incident response procedures.