Source: cve@mitre.org
Biometric Shift Employee Management System has XSS via the criteria parameter in an index.php?user=competency_criteria request.
Biometric Shift Employee Management System is vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into the application. This vulnerability, exploitable through the criteria parameter in a specific URL, could lead to session hijacking, data theft, or defacement of the application for authenticated users. Successful exploitation requires an attacker to craft a malicious URL and trick a legitimate user into clicking it.
Step 1: Payload Delivery: The attacker crafts a malicious URL containing a JavaScript payload within the criteria parameter. For example: index.php?user=competency_criteria&criteria=<script>alert('XSS')</script>.
Step 2: Victim Interaction: The attacker lures a legitimate user (e.g., an employee or administrator) into clicking the malicious URL, perhaps through a phishing email or social engineering.
Step 3: Server Processing: The victim's browser sends the crafted URL to the Biometric Shift Employee Management System.
Step 4: Vulnerable Code Execution: The server processes the request, retrieves the value of the criteria parameter, and includes it in the HTML response without proper sanitization or encoding.
Step 5: Malicious Script Execution: The victim's browser renders the HTML response, including the injected JavaScript payload. The JavaScript payload then executes within the context of the user's session, allowing the attacker to perform actions on behalf of the user.
The vulnerability stems from a lack of proper input validation and output encoding on the criteria parameter within the index.php?user=competency_criteria request. The application directly reflects user-supplied input without sanitization or escaping, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code. The root cause is a failure to implement output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) when rendering the criteria parameter's value in the response. This allows the attacker to inject malicious JavaScript that executes in the context of the victim's browser, enabling various attacks such as stealing session cookies, redirecting users to phishing sites, or defacing the application's interface. The absence of a Content Security Policy (CSP) further exacerbates the issue, as it would otherwise mitigate the impact of the injected script.
While no specific APT groups are directly linked to this CVE, XSS vulnerabilities are commonly exploited by various threat actors for initial access, credential harvesting, and lateral movement. This vulnerability could be leveraged by opportunistic attackers or as part of a larger attack chain. CISA KEV status: Not Listed.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) logs showing suspicious HTTP requests containing JavaScript payloads (e.g., <script>, onerror, onload).
Intrusion Detection System (IDS) alerts triggered by XSS signatures in HTTP requests.
Network traffic analysis revealing unusual HTTP requests with malicious payloads in the criteria parameter.
Server-side logs showing unexpected or malicious activity related to user sessions, such as cookie theft or unauthorized access.
Browser-based security tools (e.g., browser extensions) detecting and blocking XSS attempts.
Implement input validation to sanitize the criteria parameter, removing or encoding potentially malicious characters (e.g., <, >, &, ', ").
Implement output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) to escape special characters when rendering the criteria parameter's value in the HTML response. This prevents the browser from interpreting the injected code as HTML.
Implement a Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict the sources from which the browser can load resources (scripts, stylesheets, images, etc.). This can significantly mitigate the impact of XSS attacks by preventing the execution of injected JavaScript.
Update the Biometric Shift Employee Management System to the latest version or apply any available security patches.
Regularly scan the application for vulnerabilities using automated tools and manual penetration testing.
Educate users about the dangers of clicking on suspicious links and the importance of reporting any suspicious activity.