CVE-2024-22397 in SonicOS
Summary
by MITRE • 03/14/2024
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') in the SonicOS SSLVPN portal allows a remote authenticated attacker as a firewall 'admin' user to store and execute arbitrary JavaScript code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/16/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in SonicWall's SonicOS SSLVPN portal that enables authenticated administrators to inject malicious JavaScript code into web pages. The weakness stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization during the web page generation process, allowing attackers who have already compromised administrative credentials to persistently store and execute arbitrary code within the victim's browser context. The vulnerability specifically affects the SSLVPN portal component of SonicOS, which serves as a gateway for remote network access and administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when the web application fails to properly neutralize user-supplied input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content. This allows an attacker with administrative privileges to craft malicious payloads that get stored within the application's data storage mechanisms and subsequently executed whenever legitimate users access affected pages. The flaw resides in the application's failure to properly escape or filter special characters that could be interpreted as executable JavaScript code during the rendering process. This type of vulnerability is classified as CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a well-established category of web application security weaknesses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it provides attackers with a persistent code execution vector within the administrative context of the firewall system. An attacker who has already gained administrative access can leverage this vulnerability to maintain long-term access to the network infrastructure while potentially escalating privileges further. The stored nature of the XSS payload means that the malicious code will execute automatically whenever affected users access the vulnerable portal, creating a stealthy persistence mechanism that can evade traditional security monitoring. This vulnerability enables attackers to perform actions such as stealing session tokens, modifying firewall configurations, or redirecting users to malicious sites, effectively compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the entire network infrastructure.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. The primary recommendation involves applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates as soon as they become available. Additionally, implementing strict input validation and output encoding mechanisms can help prevent similar issues in the future. Network segmentation and least privilege access controls should be enforced to limit the potential impact of compromised administrative accounts. Security monitoring should include detection of suspicious JavaScript code patterns within web application traffic, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the network infrastructure. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, and represents a significant risk to network security posture when administrative credentials are compromised.