CVE-2021-32852 in Countly
Summary
by MITRE • 02/21/2023
Countly, a product analytics solution, is vulnerable to cross-site scripting prior to version 21.11 of the community edition. The victim must follow a malicious link or be redirected there from malicious web site. The attacker must have an account or be able to create one. This issue is patched in version 21.11.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/23/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-32852 affects Countly, a popular product analytics solution, and represents a cross-site scripting flaw that existed in community edition versions prior to 21.11. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security issues. The flaw allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on Countly for their analytics data and user behavior tracking.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires specific conditions that must be met for successful attack execution. An attacker must first obtain an account within the Countly system or be able to create one, which represents a baseline privilege requirement. The actual attack vector involves the victim following a malicious link or being redirected from a malicious website to the compromised Countly instance. This delivery mechanism aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for Initial Access through Spearphishing Link, where attackers use crafted web links to deliver malicious payloads. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of the victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further compromise of the affected system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to manipulate analytics data, steal user session cookies, and potentially gain deeper access to the system. Since Countly is used for tracking user behavior and product analytics, successful exploitation could provide attackers with insights into user patterns, potentially aiding in more sophisticated social engineering attacks or targeted exploitation of specific user groups. Organizations using older versions of Countly are particularly at risk as the vulnerability allows for persistent malicious activity that can go undetected for extended periods. The patch released in version 21.11 addresses the core issue by implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms that prevent malicious scripts from being executed in the context of legitimate user sessions.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability centers on immediate version upgrade to 21.11 or later, which includes proper sanitization of user inputs and implementation of Content Security Policy headers to prevent script execution. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as monitoring for unusual account creation patterns, implementing web application firewalls, and conducting regular security assessments of their analytics platforms. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation in web applications and highlights how seemingly minor security flaws in analytics tools can provide attackers with significant opportunities for data exfiltration and system compromise. Security teams should also consider implementing network-based detection measures to identify potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in analytics platforms.