CVE-2022-44027 in nGeniusONE
Summary
by MITRE • 01/27/2023
An issue was discovered in NetScout nGeniusONE 6.3.2 before P10. It allows Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), issue 4 of 6.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-44027 represents a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw within NetScout nGeniusONE version 6.3.2 prior to patch level P10. This security weakness resides in the network monitoring and analysis platform that organizations use to diagnose and troubleshoot network performance issues. The nGeniusONE system serves as a comprehensive network visibility solution that aggregates data from various network devices and provides analytics for network infrastructure management. The reflected XSS vulnerability specifically manifests in the web interface components of this network monitoring platform, making it accessible to attackers who can leverage this weakness to execute malicious scripts against unsuspecting users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the web application's response handling mechanisms. When the nGeniusONE web interface processes user-supplied parameters through HTTP request methods, particularly GET parameters, the system fails to properly sanitize or encode these inputs before incorporating them into HTML responses. This allows an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code into the application's response, which then gets executed in the context of the victim's browser session. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious payload is reflected back to the user through the application's normal response flow, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no persistent storage or complex attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive network configuration data, and potentially escalate privileges within the monitoring environment. Network administrators who interact with the nGeniusONE interface could inadvertently execute malicious code when viewing crafted URLs or when the application processes certain network monitoring data. This vulnerability directly affects the integrity and confidentiality of network monitoring operations, as attackers could gain unauthorized access to network performance data, device configurations, and potentially use the compromised interface to launch further attacks against the internal network infrastructure. The vulnerability's presence in the monitoring platform creates a particularly concerning risk since network monitoring systems typically contain highly sensitive information about network topology, performance metrics, and security events.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability. The primary remediation involves applying the vendor-provided patch level P10 or higher, which contains the necessary code modifications to properly validate and encode user inputs. Network segmentation and access controls should be enhanced to limit exposure of the nGeniusONE interface to only authorized personnel, while web application firewalls can provide additional protection by filtering suspicious input patterns. Security awareness training for network administrators should emphasize the importance of avoiding suspicious links and verifying URLs before accessing network monitoring interfaces. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a significant concern from ATT&CK framework perspective under TA0001 (Initial Access) and TA0002 (Execution) tactics. Organizations should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to ensure no other components within their network monitoring infrastructure contain similar weaknesses, as reflected XSS vulnerabilities often indicate broader input validation issues that may affect other application components.