CVE-2024-27082 in Cacti
Summary
by MITRE • 05/14/2024
Cacti provides an operational monitoring and fault management framework. Versions of Cacti prior to 1.2.27 are vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting, a type of cross-site scripting where malicious scripts are permanently stored on a target server and served to users who access a particular page. Version 1.2.27 contains a patch for the issue.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-27082 affects Cacti, a widely used operational monitoring and fault management framework that provides comprehensive network monitoring capabilities for IT infrastructure. This framework serves as a critical component in enterprise environments where system administrators rely on its dashboard and reporting features to maintain operational visibility. The vulnerability manifests as a stored cross-site scripting flaw that represents a significant security risk to organizations using affected versions of the software. The issue impacts all versions prior to 1.2.27, making it a persistent threat to deployments that have not yet applied the necessary security patch.
The technical flaw involves the improper sanitization of user input within Cacti's data handling mechanisms, specifically within the graphing and data visualization components where user-supplied parameters are not adequately validated or escaped before being stored in the database. When malicious actors exploit this vulnerability, they can inject malicious scripts that persist in the application's database and are subsequently executed whenever legitimate users access affected pages. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious code remains active until manually removed or until the application is patched, creating a persistent threat vector that can affect multiple users over extended periods. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a critical weakness in the application's input validation and output encoding processes.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the monitored environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can potentially gain access to sensitive monitoring data, manipulate network performance metrics, or use the compromised Cacti instance as a foothold for further attacks within the network infrastructure. The persistent nature of stored XSS makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Cacti dashboards may be accessed by multiple administrators and users throughout the organization. The attack surface is significantly expanded since the malicious scripts can be triggered whenever users view affected graphs or monitoring pages, potentially affecting anyone with access to the compromised Cacti installation.
Organizations should immediately prioritize the deployment of the security patch available in version 1.2.27 to mitigate this vulnerability. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the patched version in non-production environments before full deployment to ensure compatibility with existing monitoring configurations. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect any suspicious activity related to the exploitation of this vulnerability and consider conducting a thorough audit of all Cacti installations within the enterprise environment. Additionally, implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls and enhanced input validation measures can provide defense-in-depth protection. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and proper input sanitization practices in monitoring frameworks that handle sensitive operational data, as these systems often serve as central points of access for network administrators and security personnel.