CVE-2024-52888 is a medium-severity Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in Check Point Mobile Access versions R81.10, R81.20, and R82. This vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically when an authenticated end-user accesses the portal and attempts to display a directory or file properties. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, indicating that malicious scripts can be injected and executed within the context of the web portal. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4, reflecting a network attack vector with low attack complexity, requiring privileges (authenticated user), and user interaction to trigger the vulnerability. The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact affects confidentiality and integrity, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary scripts that could steal session tokens, manipulate displayed data, or perform actions on behalf of the user. However, availability is not impacted. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability requires an authenticated user to interact with the portal, which limits exploitation to insiders or compromised accounts. The portal’s role in providing secure remote access to corporate networks makes this vulnerability significant, as it could be leveraged to escalate privileges or move laterally within an organization’s infrastructure.

For European organizations, the exploitation of CVE-2024-52888 could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information and potential manipulation of user sessions within Check Point Mobile Access portals. Since this product is widely used to provide secure remote access to corporate networks, successful exploitation could enable attackers to bypass security controls, impersonate legitimate users, or harvest credentials for further attacks. This is particularly critical for industries with stringent data protection requirements such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure sectors prevalent in Europe. The vulnerability’s requirement for authentication and user interaction reduces the risk of widespread automated exploitation but increases the threat from insider attacks or targeted phishing campaigns. Additionally, the scope change indicates that the vulnerability could impact multiple components or user sessions, potentially amplifying the damage. Organizations relying heavily on Check Point Mobile Access for VPN and remote access services may face increased risk of session hijacking, data leakage, and unauthorized access, which could lead to regulatory non-compliance under GDPR and other European data protection laws.

1. Immediate mitigation should include restricting access to the Check Point Mobile Access portal to trusted users and networks, employing strong multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of compromised credentials. 2. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on the portal to neutralize malicious scripts, even before vendor patches are available. 3. Monitor portal logs for unusual activity patterns, such as repeated attempts to access directory or file properties, which could indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Educate users on the risks of interacting with unexpected or suspicious content within the portal to minimize successful user interaction exploitation. 5. Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block XSS payloads targeting the portal’s vulnerable endpoints. 6. Plan for rapid deployment of vendor patches once released, and test updates in a controlled environment to ensure no disruption to remote access services. 7. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on the remote access infrastructure to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities proactively.