CVE-2023-48256 in Nexo Cordless Nutrunner
Summary
by MITRE • 01/10/2024
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to inject arbitrary HTTP response headers or manipulate HTTP response bodies inside a victim’s session via a crafted URL or HTTP request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical HTTP response manipulation flaw that enables remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP response headers or alter HTTP response bodies within a victim's session. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the affected system's HTTP response handling processes. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious URLs or HTTP requests that trigger unintended header injection or body modification behaviors. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the HTTP protocol implementation, allowing adversaries to potentially redirect users to malicious sites, inject malicious content, or manipulate session data. Such manipulation can occur without requiring authentication or prior access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous in web applications where users interact with multiple services. The flaw essentially allows attackers to hijack or corrupt the HTTP communication between clients and servers, potentially leading to session hijacking, cross-site scripting attacks, or other forms of injection-based exploits. This type of vulnerability directly relates to CWE-1107 which describes improper neutralization of special elements used in HTTP headers, and also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol manipulation. The impact extends beyond simple data corruption as it can enable more sophisticated attacks such as man-in-the-middle operations or credential theft through session manipulation.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires understanding how HTTP responses are constructed and processed within the vulnerable system. Attackers typically leverage the injection of malicious headers such as Set-Cookie, Location, or Content-Type fields to redirect traffic or modify response content. The vulnerability may manifest when the application fails to properly escape or validate user-supplied input that gets incorporated into HTTP responses. This often occurs in applications that dynamically construct responses based on user input without adequate sanitization measures. The flaw can be particularly insidious because it operates silently within legitimate user sessions, making detection difficult for security monitoring systems. When successful, the attack can cause the victim's browser to process malicious content or follow unauthorized redirects, effectively compromising the user's session and potentially exposing sensitive information. The vulnerability's exploitation is typically straightforward, requiring only a specially crafted HTTP request or URL that triggers the injection mechanism within the application's response handling code. This makes it a high-risk vulnerability that can be exploited by adversaries with minimal technical expertise.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-48256 extends far beyond simple response manipulation, potentially enabling complete session compromise and data exfiltration. Organizations running vulnerable applications face risks of unauthorized access to user accounts, data breaches, and potential escalation to more severe attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement within network environments. The vulnerability can be particularly damaging in applications that handle sensitive information such as financial data, personal identification, or corporate secrets. Security teams must consider the potential for this vulnerability to be used as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks, including credential theft, session hijacking, or as part of larger attack chains. The impact is amplified in environments where users trust the vulnerable application and may not be suspicious of manipulated responses. Additionally, the vulnerability can affect application availability if attackers manipulate response content to cause application errors or crashes. Organizations should also consider the potential for this vulnerability to be exploited in conjunction with other weaknesses, such as insufficient session management or weak encryption protocols. The remediation process requires careful analysis of all HTTP response generation code paths and implementation of robust input validation and sanitization measures.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-48256 must address the root cause of insufficient input validation within HTTP response handling processes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input sanitization and validation mechanisms that prevent malicious content from being incorporated into HTTP responses. This includes implementing proper escaping of user-supplied data in all response generation code and ensuring that HTTP headers are validated against known good patterns. Security measures should include the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious header injection attempts, along with regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing. Organizations should also implement proper HTTP response header management, including the use of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options to prevent certain types of injection attacks. Regular code reviews and security training for development teams are essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future releases. The implementation of automated security scanning tools during the development lifecycle can help identify potential injection points before they reach production environments. Additionally, organizations should establish robust monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect unusual HTTP response patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Patch management processes must be prioritized to ensure timely deployment of vendor-provided fixes when available, while also maintaining proper incident response procedures to handle potential exploitation attempts. The mitigation approach should align with security frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001, ensuring that the remediation efforts meet established security standards and best practices.