CVE-2024-49343
📋 TL;DR
IBM Informix Dynamic Server versions 12.10 and 14.10 contain an HTML injection vulnerability that allows remote attackers to inject malicious HTML code. When victims view this injected content in their web browsers, it executes within the security context of the hosting site, potentially leading to session hijacking or phishing attacks. Organizations running these specific Informix versions are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Informix Dynamic Server
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal session cookies, perform phishing attacks, redirect users to malicious sites, or execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the Informix web interface, potentially leading to full system compromise if combined with other vulnerabilities.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious HTML/JavaScript to steal session cookies or credentials, perform phishing attacks against administrators, or deface web interfaces.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the impact is limited to minor data display issues without code execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
HTML injection vulnerabilities typically have low exploitation complexity. Attackers need to find input vectors that accept and render HTML content without proper sanitization.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply fixes as specified in IBM advisory
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7240777
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review IBM advisory at provided URL. 2. Download and apply the appropriate fix pack for your version. 3. Restart Informix services. 4. Verify the fix by testing HTML input validation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side input validation to strip or encode HTML tags from user inputs
# Custom implementation required based on application
Content Security Policy
allImplement CSP headers to restrict script execution
# Add to web server config: Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block HTML injection patterns
- Disable or restrict access to vulnerable web interfaces, use VPN or network segmentation
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test by submitting HTML tags like <script>alert('test')</script> or <img src=x onerror=alert(1)> to input fields and check if they executeCheck Version:
onstat -version | grep 'IBM Informix Dynamic Server'Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, repeat vulnerability tests to confirm HTML tags are properly encoded or rejected📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual HTML/JavaScript patterns in input logs
- Multiple failed input validation attempts
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing suspicious HTML/script tags to Informix endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="informix_logs" AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onerror=" OR "onload=")