CVE-2022-43697 - XSS Vulnerability in OX App Suite before 7.10.6-rev30 Exploiting Activity Tracking Adapter JSLOB Definition

Summary: A recent vulnerability (CVE-2022-43697) discovered in OX App Suite versions before 7.10.6-rev30 exposes the web application to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks due to unsafe handling of activity tracking adapter settings defined by JSLOB. In this article, we'll cover the details of the vulnerability, its impact, and the mitigation steps to secure your OX App Suite installation.

Introduction: OX App Suite is a popular open-source collaboration platform that offers a wide range of features including email, calendar, contacts, and file storage. Many organizations rely on OX App Suite to help manage their day-to-day operations seamlessly. However, as with any software, security vulnerabilities may arise.

Exploit Details: CVE-2022-43697 is an XSS vulnerability that was discovered in the OX App Suite. This is a type of attack wherein an attacker injects malicious JavaScript code into the application, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of user data.

In OX App Suite, activity tracking adapters are utilized for various purposes, such as tracking user interactions and storing application-specific settings. These settings are defined as JavaScript Object Literals (JSLOB) and are not adequately sanitized, which allows an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code into the application.

Here's an example of a vulnerable JSLOB definition for an activity tracking adapter

{
    "adapter": "customAdapter",
    "config": {
        "customParam": "</script><script>alert('XSS')</script>"
    }
}

In the above code snippet, an attacker injects a closing </script> tag followed by malicious JavaScript code, which would be executed in the user's browser when rendering the OX App Suite user interface.

Links to Original References

1. CVE Details: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-43697
2. Open-Xchange Security Advisory: https://security.open-xchange.com/advisories/SEC-2022-603/

Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can result in various adverse consequences, including unauthorized access to sensitive user information, manipulation of application data, and even hijacking of user accounts.

Mitigation Steps: To secure your OX App Suite installation against this vulnerability, it is highly recommended that you upgrade your instance to the latest available version, which is 7.10.6-rev30 or later. The latest version includes fixes that properly sanitize JSLOB definitions for activity tracking adapters, thus limiting attackers' ability to inject malicious code.

Here's a link to the official OX App Suite version 7.10.6-rev30 release notes: https://documentation.open-xchange.com/7.10.6/index.html

In addition to upgrading your OX App Suite version, you can also follow these best practices for overall application security:

1. Employ proper input validation techniques, such as whitelisting allowed characters and using output encoding, to prevent any unsanitized inputs from being executed in user browsers.
2. Keep your application and its dependencies up-to-date with the latest security patches and version releases.

Implement robust access controls and authentication to limit unauthorized access to the application.

4. Regularly review application logs and monitor for any suspicious activities or attempts to exploit known vulnerabilities.

Conclusion: CVE-2022-43697 is a critical vulnerability that exposes OX App Suite installations to XSS attacks. To protect your application and user data from potential threats, it is essential to upgrade your OX App Suite to version 7.10.6-rev30 or later and adopt other security best practices as mentioned above. Don't leave your application's security to chance; act now to keep your organization and its users secure.

Timeline

Published on: 04/15/2023 02:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 04/21/2023 04:16:00 UTC