CVE-2018-16887: Katello Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mhhc-r88h-2qrm
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CVSS 5.4
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-16887 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.4) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Katello libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves katello cross-site scripting vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.9.0.

CVE-2018-16887 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-16887
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mhhc-r88h-2qrm
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.4
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Katello
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2018-16887

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Katello dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

katello fixed: 3.9.0 
Upgrade katello to 3.9.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for katello

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2018-16887, inspect your project dependencies for Katello:

inspect dependencies for katello

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Katello in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.9.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Katello, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw was found in the katello component of Satellite. An attacker with privilege to create/edit organizations and locations is able to execute a XSS attacks against other users through the Subscriptions or the Red Hat Repositories wizards. This can possibly lead to malicious code execution and extraction of the anti-CSRF token of higher privileged users. Versions before 3.9.0 are vulnerable.

CVE-2018-16887 Affected Katello Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.9.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
katello
gem/katello
RubyGems
< 3.9.0
3.9.0

References

NVD — CVE-2018-16887 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16887
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2019:12... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1222
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16887
Katello Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/Katello/katello
Katello Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/katello/CVE-2018-16887.yml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-16887?
CVE-2018-16887 is a security vulnerability in Katello involving katello Cross-site Scripting vulnerability under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Katello versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.9.0 across affected packages: katello.
What version fixes CVE-2018-16887?
Upgrading to 3.9.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is katello affected?
Yes, katello is affected in releases prior to 3.9.0. Upgrade your dependency to 3.9.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-16887?
CVE-2018-16887 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-16887?
CVE-2018-16887 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2018-16887?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for katello'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-mhhc-r88h-2qrm",
  "modified" : "2023-01-27T00:11:54Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T01:03:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-16887" ],
  "summary" : "katello Cross-site Scripting vulnerability",
  "details" : "A cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw was found in the katello component of Satellite. An attacker with privilege to create/edit organizations and locations is able to execute a XSS attacks against other users through the Subscriptions or the Red Hat Repositories wizards. This can possibly lead to malicious code execution and extraction of the anti-CSRF token of higher privileged users. Versions before 3.9.0 are vulnerable.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "katello"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.9.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16887"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1222"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16887"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Katello/katello"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/katello/CVE-2018-16887.yml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-01-27T00:11:54Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-01-13T02:29:00Z"
  }
}