Ektron CMS XML External Entity Scanner

Ektron CMS is a widely used content management system that allows organizations to create, manage, and publish digital content. It is employed by businesses and institutions globally to streamline their web content management processes. Ektron CMS facilitates a range of functionalities for handling web pages and provides tools for website administration. The platform is popular among developers for its ease of integration with existing IT infrastructures. Users of Ektron CMS can easily manage and update website content without extensive technical expertise. Ektron CMS also provides robust support for managing multimedia and other digital assets.

XML External Entity (XXE) Injection is a severe vulnerability that allows external entities to be processed by an XML parser. An attacker can exploit this flaw in Ektron CMS's Blogs component to gain access to local files or leverage Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) capabilities. This vulnerability can lead to unauthorized exposure of sensitive data and unwanted access to network elements. XXE exploits can also allow attackers to obtain server configurations or interact with backend systems maliciously. Detecting and mitigating this vulnerability is crucial to maintaining the security of systems running Ektron CMS. The presence of such a vulnerability is indicative of improper handling of XML input.

The vulnerability in the Ektron CMS specifically affects the Blogs xmlrpc.aspx endpoint, where poorly configured XML parsing mechanisms are present. Attackers can send crafted XML requests containing external entities to the vulnerable endpoint. These external entities can trigger a DNS-based interaction indicating an attempt to access external resources. The vulnerability check analyzes HTTP responses and matches them against indicators of such interactions. The technical execution involves attempting to inject an external entity into the XML sent to the blog interface. Successful exploitation is indicated by server responses suggesting the processing of unintended external entities.

If exploited, this vulnerability could have severe repercussions for an organization using Ektron CMS. Malicious actors could gain unauthorized access to sensitive files on the server, leading to potential data breaches. The SSRF capability could be used to pivot attacks within the network, targeting other systems. Data integrity and customer privacy could be significantly compromised, resulting in loss of trust and legal implications. The presence of this XXE vulnerability poses a major security risk that could disrupt organizational operations and lead to financial losses. Overall, the exploitation could escalate to full system compromise depending on the data accessed.

REFERENCES

• https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/21085
• https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/116259/Ektron-CMS-8.5.0-File-Upload-XXE-Injection.html
• https://www.acunetix.com/vulnerabilities/web/ektron-cms-multiple-vulnerabilities