CVE-2023-6072 in Central Management
Summary
by MITRE • 02/13/2024
A cross-site scripting vulnerability in Trellix Central Management (CM) prior to 9.1.3.97129 allows a remote authenticated attacker to craft CM dashboard internal requests causing arbitrary content to be injected into the response when accessing the CM dashboard.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/19/2025
The cross-site scripting vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-6072 affects Trellix Central Management (CM) software versions prior to 9.1.3.97129, representing a critical security flaw that enables remote authenticated attackers to execute malicious code through dashboard interactions. This vulnerability resides within the web application's handling of internal dashboard requests, specifically targeting the response generation mechanism that processes user-supplied data without adequate sanitization or validation. The flaw allows attackers who have already established authentication credentials to manipulate dashboard requests and inject arbitrary content into the response, potentially compromising the integrity of the user interface and enabling further exploitation. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding practices within the CM dashboard component, creating an attack surface where crafted requests can bypass security controls and execute malicious scripts in the context of authenticated user sessions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of internal dashboard request parameters that are subsequently processed and returned in the HTTP response. When authenticated users access the CM dashboard, the application fails to properly sanitize user-controllable input values that are incorporated into the response content. This inadequate sanitization creates an environment where malicious payloads can be injected and executed within the browser context of legitimate users. The vulnerability specifically affects the dashboard rendering logic where internal requests are handled, and the response generation process lacks proper HTML encoding or content security policy enforcement. Attackers can exploit this by crafting specially formatted requests that include malicious script content, which then gets rendered in the dashboard interface, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further system compromise. This type of vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as "Cross-site Scripting" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing with Malicious Attachments" and T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript" within the adversary tactics framework.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-6072 extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with a foothold for more sophisticated attacks targeting authenticated users within the Trellix CM environment. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, access sensitive configuration data, or escalate privileges within the management interface. The vulnerability's remote and authenticated nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the network or administrative credentials to exploit the flaw, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users maintain administrative access to the CM system. Organizations using affected versions of Trellix CM face increased risk of data breaches, unauthorized system modifications, and potential lateral movement within their security infrastructure. The vulnerability could also compromise the integrity of security monitoring and alerting systems that rely on the CM dashboard for visibility into system status and security events. Security teams must consider the potential for this vulnerability to be leveraged as a stepping stone for more comprehensive attacks, particularly in environments where Trellix CM serves as a central management point for security operations and where users may have elevated privileges within the system.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided patch for Trellix Central Management version 9.1.3.97129 to remediate this vulnerability, as no effective workarounds exist for the core issue. The patch addresses the input validation and output encoding deficiencies that enable the XSS attack vector, ensuring that user-controllable parameters are properly sanitized before being incorporated into dashboard responses. System administrators should conduct immediate vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and monitor network traffic for suspicious dashboard access patterns. Additional defensive measures include implementing strict content security policies, enabling web application firewalls to filter suspicious requests, and conducting regular security audits of the CM dashboard configuration. Organizations should also review and tighten access controls for CM administrative interfaces, ensuring that only necessary personnel have elevated privileges and that multi-factor authentication is implemented for all administrative accounts. Regular security training for administrators and users on recognizing potential phishing attempts and social engineering attacks that could lead to credential compromise is essential. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing robust input validation mechanisms across all web applications, particularly those handling sensitive administrative functions. Given the potential for privilege escalation and system compromise, organizations should treat this vulnerability as a high-priority remediation item and consider implementing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts.