CVE-2002-1808 in Meunity Community System
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Meunity Community System 1.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via Javascript in an IMG tag when creating a topic.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/03/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1808 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Meunity Community System version 1.1, specifically targeting the topic creation functionality. This vulnerability resides in the input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data, particularly when processing image tags containing javascript code. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers, creating a significant security risk for community platforms where user-generated content is prevalent.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of HTML content within the message board system's topic creation feature. When users create topics containing image tags with embedded javascript code, the system fails to properly filter or escape these inputs before rendering them on web pages. This occurs because the application does not adequately validate the src attribute of img tags or other HTML elements, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute when other users view the affected content. The vulnerability specifically exploits the lenient parsing of html attributes without proper security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker could craft a topic containing an img tag with javascript code in its src attribute, which would execute when users browse the topic, potentially stealing cookies or redirecting users to phishing sites. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in community systems where users trust the platform and may not be aware of the security implications of viewing content. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of user interaction and content sharing within the community platform.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The system must sanitize all user-provided content, particularly HTML attributes and tags, before rendering them on web pages. This includes implementing proper HTML escaping for all dynamic content and employing content security policies to prevent script execution. Organizations should also consider implementing a whitelist approach for allowed HTML tags and attributes, while ensuring that any javascript code is properly escaped or removed from user-generated content. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a typical example of how insufficient input validation leads to security breaches in web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this under T1059.007 for scripting languages and T1566 for credential access through social engineering, highlighting the broader attack surface implications.