CVE-2026-13258 in DataPower Gateway
Summary
by MITRE • 10/08/2026
IBM DataPower Gateway 10.5.0.0 through 10.5.0.22, 10.6.1 through 10.6.6, 10.6.0.0 through 10.6.0.10, and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.0.2 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows an authenticated user to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2026
The identified security flaw resides within IBM DataPower Gateway, specifically affecting versions 10.5.0.0 through 10.5.0.22, 10.6.1 through 10.6.6, 10.6.0.0 through 10.6.0.10, and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.0.2. This vulnerability is classified as a cross-site scripting issue that impacts the web-based management interface of the appliance. Unlike many remote code execution vulnerabilities that target unauthenticated users or backend services directly, this specific weakness requires an authenticated user to exploit it. The core technical flaw involves insufficient sanitization and validation of input fields within the Web UI components. When a legitimate administrator or operator inputs data into these fields, the system fails to properly encode special characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and ampersands before rendering them in subsequent HTTP responses. This lack of proper output encoding allows an attacker who has gained access to the administrative interface to inject malicious JavaScript payloads that are executed by the web browsers of other users or even the administrator themselves when they view specific pages containing the tainted data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant due to the privileged nature of the DataPower Gateway environment, which often serves as a critical edge device handling API gateways, load balancing, and protocol transformation for enterprise networks. Because the attack requires authentication, it represents an insider threat or a scenario where credentials have been compromised through other means such as phishing or credential stuffing. Once executed within the context of the trusted session, the injected JavaScript can perform actions on behalf of the victim user with their full privileges. This includes reading sensitive configuration data, capturing session cookies that maintain administrative access, and potentially altering system settings to redirect traffic or disable security controls. The primary consequence highlighted in the vulnerability description is credentials disclosure, which allows an attacker to hijack active sessions and gain persistent unauthorized control over the gateway infrastructure without needing to brute-force passwords again.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, commonly known as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Specifically, it falls under stored or reflected XSS depending on whether the malicious payload is persisted in the backend configuration database and served to other users upon request, or if it executes immediately within the current session context. In terms of offensive security frameworks, this exploit maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically via JavaScript execution within a browser environment. It also relates to T1536: Substitute Web Cloud Service if the attacker uses external hosting for payload delivery, though in this case, the script is likely embedded directly into the application state. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the user's browser and the DataPower Gateway web interface, exploiting the same-origin policy assumptions that are violated by the injection of executable code from a trusted domain.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. The most effective solution is to apply the vendor-provided software updates or patches immediately to bring all instances of IBM DataPower Gateway within the affected version ranges up to the latest secure release where input validation logic has been hardened. For environments where patching cannot be performed instantly, network-level controls should be implemented to restrict access to the Web UI management interface exclusively to trusted IP addresses using firewalls or VPNs with strict authentication requirements. Additionally, implementing a Content Security Policy (CSP) header can help mitigate the impact by restricting the sources from which scripts are allowed to execute, although this may require careful tuning to avoid breaking legitimate administrative functions. Regular security audits of input handling mechanisms and adherence to secure coding standards that mandate output encoding for all dynamic content rendered in HTML contexts will further reduce the risk surface for similar vulnerabilities across the organization's infrastructure.