CVE-2022-4521: Carbon registry Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gp5f-gqgq-7254
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-4521 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Carbon registry libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves wso2 carbon-registry vulnerable to cross-site scripting. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.8.7.

CVE-2022-4521 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-4521
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gp5f-gqgq-7254
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Carbon registry
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.1

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
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-2022-4521

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Carbon registry 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.wso2.carbon.registry:carbon-registry fixed: 4.8.7 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.wso2.carbon.registry</groupId>
    <artifactId>carbon-registry</artifactId>
    <version>4.8.7</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.wso2.carbon.registry

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-4521, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.wso2.carbon.registry

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Carbon registry in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.8.7), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.wso2.carbon.registry 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 Carbon registry, 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 vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in WSO2 carbon-registry before 4.8.7. This affects an unknown part of the component Request Parameter Handler. The manipulation of the argument parentPath/path/username/path/profile_menu leads to cross site scripting. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Upgrading to version 4.8.7 or later will address this issue. The name of the patch is 9f967abfde9317bee2cda469dbc09b57d539f2cc. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier VDB-215901 was assigned to this vulnerability.

CVE-2022-4521 Affected Carbon registry Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.8.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.wso2.carbon.registry:carbon-registry
maven/org.wso2.carbon.registry/carbon-registry
Maven
< 4.8.7
4.8.7

References

NVD — CVE-2022-4521 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4521
Carbon registry Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/pull/399
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/commit/9f967abfde9317bee2cda469dbc09b57d539f2cc
Carbon registry Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry
Carbon registry Release RELEASE
https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/releases/tag/v4.8.7
Carbon registry Release RELEASE
https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/releases/tag/v4.8.12
vuldb.com/ WEB
https://vuldb.com/?id.215901

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-4521?
CVE-2022-4521 is a security vulnerability in Carbon registry involving WSO2 carbon-registry vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Carbon registry versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.8.7 across affected packages: org.wso2.carbon.registry:carbon-registry.
What version fixes CVE-2022-4521?
Upgrading to 4.8.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is carbon-registry affected?
Yes, org.wso2.carbon.registry:carbon-registry is affected in releases prior to 4.8.7. Upgrade your dependency to 4.8.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-4521?
CVE-2022-4521 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-4521?
CVE-2022-4521 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-2022-4521?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.wso2.carbon.registry'. 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-gp5f-gqgq-7254",
  "modified" : "2022-12-20T21:55:36Z",
  "published" : "2022-12-15T21:30:26Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-4521" ],
  "summary" : "WSO2 carbon-registry vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting",
  "details" : "A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in WSO2 carbon-registry before 4.8.7. This affects an unknown part of the component Request Parameter Handler. The manipulation of the argument parentPath/path/username/path/profile_menu leads to cross site scripting. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Upgrading to version 4.8.7 or later will address this issue. The name of the patch is 9f967abfde9317bee2cda469dbc09b57d539f2cc. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier VDB-215901 was assigned to this vulnerability.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.wso2.carbon.registry:carbon-registry"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.8.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4521"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/pull/399"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/commit/9f967abfde9317bee2cda469dbc09b57d539f2cc"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/releases/tag/v4.8.12"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wso2/carbon-registry/releases/tag/v4.8.7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://vuldb.com/?id.215901"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-15T23:28:37Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-12-15T21:15:00Z"
  }
}