CVE-2023-41789 in Pandora FMS
Summary
by MITRE • 11/23/2023
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Pandora FMS on all allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). This vulnerability allows an attacker to perform cookie hijacking and log in as that user without the need for credentials. This issue affects Pandora FMS: from 700 through 773.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2023
The CVE-2023-41789 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in Pandora FMS versions ranging from 700 through 773, fundamentally compromising the application's web interface security. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, creating an environment where malicious scripts can be injected and executed within the context of legitimate user sessions. The flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the victim's browser.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability enables attackers to manipulate the web application's input handling mechanisms, specifically targeting the web page generation process where user data is rendered without adequate sanitization. When a user interacts with the vulnerable Pandora FMS interface, the application processes input parameters through the web interface without proper validation or encoding, creating an XSS attack vector that can be exploited by malicious actors. This flaw particularly affects the application's handling of user-controllable data within HTML contexts, allowing attackers to inject script code that executes in the victim's browser context with the same privileges as the legitimate user.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables sophisticated attack vectors including cookie hijacking and session manipulation that can result in complete account compromise. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can steal session cookies and other authentication tokens, allowing them to impersonate legitimate users without requiring valid credentials, which represents a severe escalation of privileges. The vulnerability's potential for credential theft and unauthorized access makes it particularly dangerous in environments where Pandora FMS manages critical infrastructure monitoring and where attackers could gain access to sensitive operational data and system controls. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1539, which describes credentials from password managers, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through various attack vectors including XSS exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-41789 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's web interface. Organizations should immediately update to patched versions of Pandora FMS, as the vulnerability affects a specific version range and has likely been addressed through proper code sanitization. The implementation of proper Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against script execution, while input validation should be enforced at multiple layers including client-side and server-side validation to ensure that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before processing. Security teams should also implement regular security scanning and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability creates a persistent attack surface that can be leveraged for ongoing unauthorized access. The fix typically involves implementing proper HTML entity encoding for all user-controllable data rendered in web pages, ensuring that any potentially malicious input is neutralized before being processed by the browser.