CVE-2022-2733 in OpenEMR
Summary
by MITRE • 08/09/2022
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Reflected in GitHub repository openemr/openemr prior to 7.0.0.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-2733 represents a reflected cross-site scripting flaw within the openemr medical records management system prior to version 7.0.0.1. This issue resides in the GitHub repository openemr/openemr and constitutes a significant security weakness that could enable malicious actors to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of a victim's browser session. The vulnerability specifically affects the application's handling of user-supplied input parameters that are reflected back to users without proper sanitization or encoding mechanisms.
This reflected XSS vulnerability occurs when the application receives input data through HTTP request parameters and directly incorporates that data into web responses without adequate validation or output encoding. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that, when executed by a victim's browser, can steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirect victims to malicious sites. The flaw exists in the application's user interface rendering logic where user input is not properly escaped before being displayed back to the user, creating an attack surface that violates fundamental web security principles.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it provides attackers with the capability to establish persistent access patterns within the medical records system. Given that openemr is a widely deployed electronic health records platform, the potential for exploitation increases significantly due to the high-value nature of healthcare data. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to access patient records, modify medical information, or create backdoor access points within the healthcare network. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments or links.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-2733 should prioritize immediate patching to version 7.0.0.1 or later where the XSS vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive input sanitization routines that escape special characters in all user-supplied data before rendering it in web responses. Additionally, deploying a web application firewall with XSS detection capabilities and implementing content security policies can provide additional defense-in-depth measures. Security teams should conduct thorough code reviews focusing on all input handling routines and establish automated testing procedures to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications. The fix typically involves implementing proper HTML escaping for output rendering and validating all incoming parameters against allowed character sets to prevent malicious script injection attempts.