CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2018-0207

Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

Published: Mar 08, 2018 | Modified: Sep 04, 2020
CVSS 3.x
3.3
LOW
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.x
4.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

A vulnerability in the web-based user interface of the Cisco Secure Access Control Server prior to 5.8 patch 9 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain read access to certain information in the affected system. The vulnerability is due to improper handling of XML External Entities (XXEs) when parsing an XML file. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by convincing the administrator of an affected system to import a crafted XML file. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve70595.

Weakness

The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Secure_access_control_server_solution_engine Cisco 5.8(0.8) 5.8(0.8)

Extended Description

XML documents optionally contain a Document Type Definition (DTD), which, among other features, enables the definition of XML entities. It is possible to define an entity by providing a substitution string in the form of a URI. The XML parser can access the contents of this URI and embed these contents back into the XML document for further processing. By submitting an XML file that defines an external entity with a file:// URI, an attacker can cause the processing application to read the contents of a local file. For example, a URI such as “file:///c:/winnt/win.ini” designates (in Windows) the file C:\Winnt\win.ini, or file:///etc/passwd designates the password file in Unix-based systems. Using URIs with other schemes such as http://, the attacker can force the application to make outgoing requests to servers that the attacker cannot reach directly, which can be used to bypass firewall restrictions or hide the source of attacks such as port scanning. Once the content of the URI is read, it is fed back into the application that is processing the XML. This application may echo back the data (e.g. in an error message), thereby exposing the file contents.

Potential Mitigations

References