CVE-2023-49574 in VX Search Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE • 05/24/2024
A vulnerability has been discovered in VX Search Enterprise affecting version 10.2.14 that could allow an attacker to execute persistent XSS through /add_job in job_name. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to store malicious JavaScript payloads on the system to be triggered when the page loads.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-49574 resides within VX Search Enterprise version 10.2.14 and represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw that enables persistent attack vectors through the /add_job endpoint. This vulnerability specifically targets the job_name parameter, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to inject and store JavaScript payloads within the application's database. The flaw allows attackers to execute code within the context of other users' browsers when they access pages containing the stored malicious content, fundamentally compromising the application's security posture and user data integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within the VX Search Enterprise application. When users submit job names through the /add_job endpoint without proper sanitization, the system fails to adequately escape or encode special characters that could be interpreted as executable JavaScript code. This represents a classic persistent cross-site scripting vulnerability that falls under CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. The vulnerability's persistence stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize user input before storing it in the database, allowing the malicious code to remain embedded and execute whenever the affected page loads.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, creating a comprehensive attack surface that can facilitate further exploitation attempts. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, redirect victims to malicious sites, or even establish persistent backdoors within the application environment. The persistent nature of the flaw means that once the malicious payload is stored, it will execute automatically for any user who views the affected job listings, potentially affecting multiple users over extended periods. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers spearphishing attachments, and T1059.007, which addresses JavaScript execution, as it enables attackers to execute malicious scripts within the browser context of legitimate users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-49574 should prioritize immediate input sanitization and output encoding measures within the VX Search Enterprise application. Organizations must implement comprehensive parameter validation that strips or encodes potentially dangerous characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and script tags before storing user input. The application should enforce strict content security policies and implement proper HTML escaping mechanisms for all user-generated content displayed in web interfaces. Additionally, security patches should be applied immediately to update VX Search Enterprise to a version that addresses this specific vulnerability, while also conducting thorough code reviews to identify and remediate similar input validation gaps throughout the application. Network monitoring and intrusion detection systems should be configured to detect suspicious patterns in requests to the /add_job endpoint, and regular security assessments should be performed to ensure that similar vulnerabilities do not exist in other application components.