CVE-2022-41558 in Spotfire Analyst
Summary
by MITRE • 11/15/2022
The Visualizations component of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO Spotfire Analyst, TIBCO Spotfire Analyst, TIBCO Spotfire Analyst, TIBCO Spotfire Analytics Platform for AWS Marketplace, TIBCO Spotfire Desktop, TIBCO Spotfire Desktop, TIBCO Spotfire Desktop, TIBCO Spotfire Server, TIBCO Spotfire Server, and TIBCO Spotfire Server contains an easily exploitable vulnerability that allows a low privileged attacker with network access to execute Stored Cross Site Scripting (XSS) on the affected system. A successful attack using this vulnerability requires human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Affected releases are TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO Spotfire Analyst: versions 11.4.4 and below, TIBCO Spotfire Analyst: versions 11.5.0, 11.6.0, 11.7.0, 11.8.0, 12.0.0, and 12.0.1, TIBCO Spotfire Analyst: version 12.1.0, TIBCO Spotfire Analytics Platform for AWS Marketplace: versions 12.1.0 and below, TIBCO Spotfire Desktop: versions 11.4.4 and below, TIBCO Spotfire Desktop: versions 11.5.0, 11.6.0, 11.7.0, 11.8.0, 12.0.0, and 12.0.1, TIBCO Spotfire Desktop: version 12.1.0, TIBCO Spotfire Server: versions 11.4.8 and below, TIBCO Spotfire Server: versions 11.5.0, 11.6.0, 11.6.1, 11.6.2, 11.6.3, 11.7.0, 11.8.0, 11.8.1, 12.0.0, and 12.0.1, and TIBCO Spotfire Server: version 12.1.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-41558 represents a critical stored cross site scripting flaw within the Visualizations component of TIBCO Spotfire products, affecting multiple deployment variants including Analyst, Desktop, and Server editions. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework as CWE-079, which specifically addresses weaknesses in web applications that fail to properly sanitize user input before rendering it in web pages. The flaw enables low privileged attackers with network access to inject malicious scripts that persist within the application's visualization components, making it particularly dangerous as the malicious code can execute against other users who interact with affected visualizations. The vulnerability requires human interaction from legitimate users other than the attacker, which aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments, though the actual exploitation occurs through stored script execution rather than direct phishing.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the visualization rendering mechanisms of TIBCO Spotfire applications. When users create or modify visualizations containing malicious script content, the system fails to properly sanitize this input before storing it in the application's data structures. This stored content is then subsequently rendered to other users without proper context-based encoding or sanitization, creating an environment where the malicious scripts execute in the context of other users' browsers. The affected versions span across multiple product lines and release series, indicating a systemic flaw in the input handling architecture rather than an isolated component issue. This widespread impact across TIBCO Spotfire Analyst, Desktop, and Server platforms suggests the vulnerability exists in core visualization libraries shared across these products.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-41558 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 within the application context. An attacker could craft malicious visualizations that steal session cookies from authenticated users, redirect them to malicious sites, or extract sensitive data from the application's data sources. The requirement for human interaction makes this attack vector particularly insidious as it can be concealed within legitimate business intelligence content, making it difficult for security monitoring systems to distinguish between benign and malicious visualizations. Organizations using TIBCO Spotfire in enterprise environments face significant risk, as the vulnerability can be exploited to compromise the integrity of business intelligence workflows and potentially gain access to sensitive organizational data.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest security patches from TIBCO as soon as they become available, which typically address the input sanitization issues at the core of this vulnerability. Network segmentation and monitoring of visualization components can help detect anomalous script content, though this approach is less effective against sophisticated attacks. Input validation controls should be implemented at the application level to sanitize all user-provided content before storage, and output encoding should be enforced to prevent script execution in visualization contexts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of all TIBCO Spotfire deployments to identify potentially compromised visualizations and implement regular content review processes. Additionally, user education about the risks of interacting with untrusted visualizations and implementing strict access controls for visualization creation can significantly reduce the attack surface. The ATT&CK framework suggests implementing defensive measures such as application whitelisting and monitoring for suspicious script execution patterns to prevent exploitation of this stored XSS vulnerability.