CVE-2022-22399 in Aspera Faspex
Summary
by MITRE • 03/05/2024
IBM Aspera Faspex 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 is vulnerable to HTTP header injection, caused by improper validation of input by the HOST headers. This could allow an attacker to conduct various attacks against the vulnerable system, including cross-site scripting, cache poisoning or session hijacking. IBM X-Force ID: 222562.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/06/2024
IBM Aspera Faspex version 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 contains a critical HTTP header injection vulnerability that stems from inadequate input validation within the HOST header processing mechanism. This flaw represents a direct violation of secure coding principles and allows malicious actors to manipulate HTTP headers in ways that can compromise the entire application stack. The vulnerability exists because the system fails to properly sanitize or validate the HOST header values before processing them, creating an attack surface where crafted header values can be injected into the application's response handling logic.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability enables attackers to inject malicious content into HTTP headers, which can subsequently be exploited to perform multiple attack vectors. When an attacker successfully injects headers, they can manipulate the application's behavior to redirect traffic, inject malicious scripts, or manipulate session management mechanisms. This particular weakness falls under CWE-113, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, making it a clear example of header injection vulnerabilities that have been well-documented in the cybersecurity community. The attack surface extends beyond simple header manipulation as the injected content can be leveraged to conduct more sophisticated attacks that align with techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under the T1059.007 command and scripting interpreter category.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, particularly when considering the nature of Faspex as a file transfer and collaboration platform. Cross-site scripting attacks can occur when injected headers contain malicious JavaScript payloads that execute in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to data theft or account compromise. Cache poisoning attacks can result in legitimate users receiving malicious content from the application's cache, effectively spreading the malicious payload to multiple users. Session hijacking becomes possible when header injection allows attackers to manipulate session identifiers or authentication tokens, potentially enabling unauthorized access to user accounts and sensitive data. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the application and can be exploited without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the application handles sensitive enterprise data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust input validation and sanitization mechanisms for all HTTP headers, particularly the HOST header. Organizations should ensure that all header values are properly validated against known good patterns and that any potentially dangerous characters are removed or encoded. The implementation of a Content Security Policy (CSP) can provide additional protection against XSS attacks that might result from successful header injection. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls should be deployed to detect and block suspicious header patterns. IBM has released patches for this vulnerability that address the root cause by implementing proper input validation for HOST headers, and organizations should immediately apply these updates. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the application stack. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that header injection attempts are properly rejected while maintaining legitimate application functionality. Organizations should also implement monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures that can be activated immediately upon detection of header injection attempts.