CVE-2024-20719 in Commerce
Summary
by MITRE • 02/15/2024
Adobe Commerce versions 2.4.6-p3, 2.4.5-p5, 2.4.4-p6 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by an admin attacker to inject malicious scripts into every admin page. Malicious JavaScript may be executed in a victim’s browser when they browse to the page containing the vulnerable field, that could be leveraged to gain admin access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/15/2024
This vulnerability represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within Adobe Commerce platforms that specifically targets administrator users and their sessions. The issue affects multiple version lines including 2.4.6-p3, 2.4.5-p5, and 2.4.4-p6 and earlier releases, creating a widespread risk across numerous production environments. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the administrative interface where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to admin users. This allows an attacker with access to any administrative account to inject malicious javascript code into fields that are subsequently displayed to other administrators, creating a persistent threat vector that can affect all active admin sessions.
The technical execution of this vulnerability follows the typical stored XSS pattern where malicious input is first stored in the application's database or storage layer and then subsequently retrieved and rendered without proper sanitization. When administrator users navigate to pages containing the vulnerable fields, their browsers execute the injected javascript code within the context of their administrative session. This creates a dangerous escalation path since admin sessions typically possess elevated privileges and access to sensitive system functions. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique for privilege escalation and persistence through web application vulnerabilities, specifically mapping to T1059.007 for script execution and T1548.001 for account manipulation. CWE-79 provides the underlying classification for cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, while CWE-352 identifies the related issue of cross-site request forgery that often accompanies such weaknesses in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking or data theft scenarios. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can potentially gain complete administrative control over the commerce platform, enabling them to modify product catalogs, manipulate customer data, alter pricing structures, and access sensitive financial information. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that even after the initial injection, the malicious code continues to execute whenever any administrator views the affected pages, creating a persistent backdoor within the system. This makes detection particularly challenging since the attack may remain undetected for extended periods while the attacker maintains covert access to critical business operations.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of defense against this vulnerability through both immediate patching and operational mitigations. The primary remediation involves applying the latest security patches released by Adobe Commerce that address the specific input validation weaknesses in the administrative interface. Additionally, implementing strict input sanitization policies and output encoding mechanisms can provide defense-in-depth protection even if the primary patch is not immediately available. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of admin activity or unexpected data modifications that might indicate exploitation attempts. The implementation of content security policies (CSP) can also help mitigate the impact of successful XSS attacks by preventing execution of unauthorized scripts in the browser context, providing an additional barrier against malicious code execution within administrative sessions.