CVE-2022-1438: Keycloak services Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9
CVSS 6.4
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-1438 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.4) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Keycloak services libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves keycloak vulnerable to cross-site scripting. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2022-1438 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-1438
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.4
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Keycloak services
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2022-1438

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

org.keycloak:keycloak-services fixed: Latest secure release
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.keycloak</groupId>
    <artifactId>keycloak-services</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-1438, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

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 Keycloak services, 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 flaw was found in Keycloak. Under specific circumstances, HTML entities are not sanitized during user impersonation, resulting in a Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. ## Details This issue is the result of code found in the exception here: [https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/blob/48835576daa158443f69917ac309e1a7c951bc87/services/src/main/java/org/keycloak/authentication/AuthenticationProcessor.java#L1045](https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/blob/48835576daa158443f69917ac309e1a7c951bc87/services/src/main/java/org/keycloak/authentication/AuthenticationProcessor.java#L1045) ## Steps to reproduce When using the legacy admin console: 1. Sign in as Admin user in first tab. 2. In that tab create new user in keycloak admin section > intercept user creation request and modify it by including malicious js script there (in username field). 3. Sign in as newly created user in second tab (same browser window but second tab). 4. Navigate back to first tab where you are signed in as admin, navigate to admin console which lists all application users. 5. Choose any user (except newly created malicious one) – modify anything for that user in his settings. E.g. navigate to credentials tab and set new credentials for him. Also set new password as temporary. 6. After update for that user is made, use impersonate option on that modified user. 7. You should see window with form which requires providing new credentials – fill it and submit request. 8. Just after submiting request user will get notified that “You are already authenticated as different user ‘[user + payload]’ in this session. Please sign out first.” And malicious payload will be executed instantly.

CVE-2022-1438 Affected Keycloak services Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.keycloak:keycloak-services
Maven
≤ 21.0.0

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-1438?
CVE-2022-1438 is a security vulnerability in Keycloak services involving Keycloak vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Keycloak services versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: org.keycloak:keycloak-services.
What version fixes CVE-2022-1438?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is keycloak-services affected?
Yes, org.keycloak:keycloak-services is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-1438?
CVE-2022-1438 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.4 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-1438?
CVE-2022-1438 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 Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-1438?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9",
  "modified" : "2023-09-25T17:19:40Z",
  "published" : "2023-03-01T16:18:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-1438" ],
  "summary" : "Keycloak vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in Keycloak. Under specific circumstances, HTML entities are not sanitized during user impersonation, resulting in a Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability.\n\n## Details\n\nThis issue is the result of code found in the exception here: [https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/blob/48835576daa158443f69917ac309e1a7c951bc87/services/src/main/java/org/keycloak/authentication/AuthenticationProcessor.java#L1045](https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/blob/48835576daa158443f69917ac309e1a7c951bc87/services/src/main/java/org/keycloak/authentication/AuthenticationProcessor.java#L1045)\n\n## Steps to reproduce\n\nWhen using the legacy admin console:\n\n1. Sign in as Admin user in first tab.\n2. In that tab create new user in keycloak admin section > intercept user creation request and modify it by including malicious js script there (in username field).\n3. Sign in as newly created user in second tab (same browser window but second tab).\n4. Navigate back to first tab where you are signed in as admin, navigate to admin console which lists all application users.\n5. Choose any user (except newly created malicious one) – modify anything for that user in his settings. E.g. navigate to credentials tab and set new credentials for him. Also set new password as temporary.\n6. After update for that user is made, use impersonate option on that modified user.\n7. You should see window with form which requires providing new credentials – fill it and submit request.\n8. Just after submiting request user will get notified that “You are already authenticated as different user ‘[user + payload]’ in this session. Please sign out first.”  And malicious payload will be executed instantly.\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.keycloak:keycloak-services"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "21.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/security/advisories/GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-1438"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:1043"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:1044"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:1045"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:1047"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:1049"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2022-1438"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2031904"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/blob/48835576daa158443f69917ac309e1a7c951bc87/services/src/main/java/org/keycloak/authentication/AuthenticationProcessor.java#L1045"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-03-01T16:18:55Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-20T14:15:12Z"
  }
}