A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability, achievable through an XML External Entity (XXE) injection, exists in MetInfo Content Management System (CMS) thru 8.1. This flaw stems from a defect in the XML parsing logic, which allows an attacker to construct a malicious XML entity that forces the server to initiate an HTTP request to an arbitrary internal or external network address. Successful exploitation could lead to internal network reconnaissance, port scanning, or the retrieval of sensitive information. The vulnerability may be present in the backend API called by or associated with the path /admin/#/webset/?head_tab_active=0, where user-provided XML data is processed.
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.
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.