CVE-2023-3971 – This CVE describes an HTML injection vulnerabil... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-3971?

CVE-2023-3971 has a CVSS score of 7.3 (HIGH). This CVE describes an HTML injection vulnerability in a Controller's user interface settings. Attackers can inject malicious HTML to create fake login pages, potentially capturing user credentials. Systems running affected versions of the Controller software with exposed user interfaces are vulnerable.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes an HTML injection vulnerability in a Controller's user interface settings. Attackers can inject malicious HTML to create fake login pages, potentially capturing user credentials. Systems running affected versions of the Controller software with exposed user interfaces are vulnerable.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Red Hat Controller (specific product name from advisory)

Versions: Versions prior to those specified in RHSA-2023:4340 and RHSA-2023:4590

Operating Systems: Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Linux variants)

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects Controller user interface settings functionality. Requires attacker access to modify UI settings.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete credential compromise leading to unauthorized access, data theft, and potential lateral movement within the network.

🟠

Likely Case

Credential harvesting from users who interact with the injected login page, resulting in account compromise.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper input validation and output encoding in place, preventing HTML injection.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Internet-facing interfaces allow remote attackers to exploit this without network access.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal attackers or compromised internal systems could exploit this vulnerability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires ability to inject HTML into user interface settings, typically requiring some level of access or privilege.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Versions specified in RHSA-2023:4340 and RHSA-2023:4590

Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3971

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update to patched versions via Red Hat package manager. 2. Apply updates from RHSA-2023:4340 or RHSA-2023:4590. 3. Restart affected Controller services.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Input Validation Enhancement

all

Implement strict input validation and output encoding for user interface settings fields

Configuration dependent - implement in application code

Access Restriction

all

Restrict access to user interface settings functionality to authorized administrators only

Configure access controls in web server or application settings

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict input validation and output encoding for all user-controlled fields
Restrict network access to Controller interfaces and implement strong authentication

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Controller version against affected versions in RHSA advisories

Check Version:

rpm -q [controller-package-name] (Red Hat systems)

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify Controller version matches or exceeds patched versions from RHSA-2023:4340/4590

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual modifications to user interface settings
HTML/script injection patterns in settings logs

Network Indicators:

Unexpected HTML content in Controller interface responses
Credential submission to unexpected endpoints

SIEM Query:

source="controller_logs" AND (message="*settings*modif*" OR message="*html*inject*")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-3971

CVSS v3 Score: 7.3 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CWE: CWE-80

Published: October 4, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:4340 Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:4590 Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3971 Vendor Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2226965 Issue Tracking,Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:4340 Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:4590 Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3971 Vendor Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2226965 Issue Tracking,Vendor Advisory

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