CVE-2002-1799 in phpRank
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in phpRank 1.8 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) email parameter to add.php or (2) banurl parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1799 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw in the phpRank 1.8 web application, demonstrating a critical weakness in input validation and output encoding practices that persisted in legacy web development frameworks. This vulnerability specifically affects the add.php script within the phpRank application, where user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to web browsers. The flaw manifests through two distinct attack vectors that exploit the application's failure to validate and escape user-provided data, creating opportunities for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of victim sessions. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-79 as "Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')", which directly aligns with the fundamental principles of secure web application development and the OWASP Top Ten security risks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when attackers submit malicious payloads through the email parameter in the add.php script or through the banurl parameter, both of which are processed without adequate sanitization measures. When the application processes these parameters and displays them in the user interface without proper HTML encoding or output filtering, the injected scripts become executable within the browser context of legitimate users. This creates a persistent threat where any user visiting pages that display the compromised data becomes a potential victim of the stored XSS attack, as the malicious scripts execute in the victim's browser with the privileges of the authenticated user. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it operates at the application layer, requiring no special privileges or complex exploitation techniques beyond crafting malicious input payloads.
The operational impact of CVE-2002-1799 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to establish persistent footholds within the web application environment and potentially escalate privileges through session hijacking or credential theft. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to steal user authentication cookies, redirect victims to phishing sites, or inject malicious content that appears legitimate to users, thereby undermining the trust model of the web application. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that phpRank was designed as a web-based ranking system that likely handled sensitive user information, making the compromise of user sessions and data integrity particularly damaging. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment" and T1531 for "Account Access Removal", as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to user accounts and potential data exfiltration.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of input validation and output encoding measures that address the root cause of the issue. Organizations should implement strict parameter validation on all user-supplied inputs, particularly those used in dynamic web content generation, and employ proper HTML escaping techniques before rendering any user-provided data in web pages. The application should utilize a whitelist approach for acceptable input characters and reject any data containing potentially malicious patterns such as script tags, javascript protocols, or other XSS payload indicators. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of defense by restricting script execution and limiting the impact of successful XSS attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of defense-in-depth strategies and the necessity of adhering to secure coding practices, particularly in legacy applications that may not have been designed with modern security considerations in mind. Regular security audits and input validation testing should be implemented to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components and ensure that all user-facing interfaces properly sanitize and validate input data according to industry standards such as those defined by OWASP and NIST guidelines for secure web application development.