CVE-2022-25261 in TeamCity
Summary
by MITRE • 02/25/2022
JetBrains TeamCity before 2021.2.2 was vulnerable to reflected XSS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2022
JetBrains TeamCity versions prior to 2021.2.2 contained a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allowed remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into web responses. This vulnerability specifically affected the web interface of TeamCity, which is commonly used for continuous integration and delivery processes in software development environments. The reflected XSS flaw occurred when the application failed to properly sanitize user input parameters before incorporating them into HTTP responses, creating an opportunity for attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of a victim's browser session.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involved the application's handling of HTTP request parameters within its web interface components. When TeamCity processed user-supplied data in URLs or form fields without adequate input validation and output encoding, it would directly embed this untrusted data into HTML responses. This reflected nature of the vulnerability meant that attackers could craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that would be executed when legitimate users clicked on the links or navigated to the compromised pages. The vulnerability was particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where TeamCity servers often hosted sensitive build configurations and access credentials.
The operational impact of this reflected XSS vulnerability extended beyond simple script execution, as it could enable attackers to hijack user sessions, steal authentication tokens, and potentially access sensitive build artifacts and configuration data. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform session fixation attacks, redirect users to malicious sites, or harvest sensitive information from authenticated TeamCity sessions. Given that TeamCity servers typically contain extensive build history, source code access controls, and deployment configurations, the potential for privilege escalation and data exfiltration was significant. This vulnerability particularly affected organizations using TeamCity for CI/CD pipelines where build servers might have elevated access to source repositories and deployment systems.
The remediation for this vulnerability required upgrading TeamCity to version 2021.2.2 or later, which included proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should also implement comprehensive web application firewall rules to detect and block malicious payloads, conduct regular security assessments of their CI/CD environments, and ensure that all web applications in their infrastructure receive timely security updates. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a common attack vector that appears in the ATT&CK framework under the technique of web application attacks. Security teams should prioritize patching this vulnerability as part of their regular vulnerability management processes, particularly in environments where TeamCity serves as a critical component of the software development lifecycle.