CVE-2023-33985 in NetWeaver Enterprise Portal
Summary
by MITRE • 06/13/2023
SAP NetWeaver Enterprise Portal - version 7.50, does not sufficiently encode user-controlled inputs over the network, resulting in reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability, therefore changing the scope of the attack. On successful exploitation, an attacker can view or modify information causing a limited impact on confidentiality and integrity of the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2023
SAP NetWeaver Enterprise Portal version 7.50 contains a critical reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms. This vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where web applications fail to properly encode user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. The flaw exists in the portal's handling of network-based user inputs, where malicious payloads are not sufficiently sanitized or encoded before being reflected back to users. This creates an attack surface where an adversary can inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers, fundamentally altering the security posture of the application.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when user-controlled parameters are directly incorporated into web responses without proper HTML encoding or context-appropriate sanitization. When an attacker crafts a malicious URL containing script tags or other malicious payloads and tricks a victim into clicking it, the portal reflects this content back to the victim's browser without adequate protection measures. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious script is not stored on the server but is instead injected through the request parameters and immediately executed by the victim's browser. This creates a limited but significant impact on both confidentiality and integrity as attackers can potentially access sensitive information or modify data within the application's scope.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to perform several malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data manipulation within the portal environment. The attack requires user interaction through phishing emails or social engineering tactics to deliver the malicious payload, making it less automated but still highly dangerous. The limited impact on confidentiality and integrity suggests that while attackers can access or modify information, they cannot completely compromise the entire system or escalate privileges beyond what is already permitted within the portal's access controls. However, this limitation does not diminish the severity as the vulnerability can still be exploited to cause significant damage to the application's integrity and user data confidentiality. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which involves the use of malicious files or scripts to gain access to systems, and T1059 which covers command and scripting interpreter techniques used to execute malicious code.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation at multiple layers, comprehensive output encoding for all user-supplied data, and regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against script execution, while proper input sanitization and encoding should be enforced across all web application components. Regular security training for developers on secure coding practices and adherence to OWASP top ten security guidelines should be mandatory to prevent similar issues in future releases. Additionally, network monitoring and intrusion detection systems should be configured to detect and alert on suspicious user-agent patterns or URL parameters that may indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability.