CVE-2025-1985 in Profinet Gateway FB8122A.1.EL
Summary
by MITRE • 05/26/2025
Due to improper neutralization of input during web page generation (XSS) an unauthenticated remote attacker can inject HTML code into the Web-UI in the affected device.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2025
This vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw that undermines the security posture of web-based user interfaces in networked devices. The issue stems from inadequate sanitization of user-supplied input during the dynamic generation of web content, creating an exploitable pathway for malicious actors to inject arbitrary HTML code into the application's response. The vulnerability affects web interfaces that process user input without proper validation or encoding mechanisms, potentially allowing attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical implementation of this flaw demonstrates a failure in input validation and output encoding practices that are fundamental to preventing XSS attacks. When web applications fail to properly neutralize or escape user-provided data before incorporating it into dynamically generated HTML content, they create opportunities for attackers to inject script tags or other malicious markup. This particular vulnerability is classified as a reflected XSS variant since the malicious input is processed and reflected back to the user without proper sanitization. The attack vector requires no authentication, making it particularly dangerous as any remote user can exploit this weakness to compromise the web interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks such as session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. An attacker could craft malicious input that, when processed by the vulnerable web interface, would execute scripts in the victim's browser context, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data or system functions. The implications are particularly severe in network device management interfaces where administrative privileges may be accessible through the web UI. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a direct violation of secure coding practices recommended by OWASP and other security frameworks.
Mitigation strategies must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements to prevent similar vulnerabilities. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the web application stack, ensuring that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being incorporated into web responses. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and proper HTML escaping techniques should be prioritized as immediate defensive measures. Additionally, regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar input validation weaknesses. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following the principle of least privilege in web interface design, ensuring that even if an XSS attack succeeds, the attacker's capabilities remain limited to the scope of the compromised session rather than full system access. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for credential access through web-based attacks, emphasizing the need for layered security controls to prevent exploitation of such fundamental web security flaws.