CVE-2002-1900 in Pinboard
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Pinboard 1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via tasklists.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/01/2025
The CVE-2002-1900 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in Pinboard version 1.0, a web-based bookmarking and note-taking application. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security weaknesses. The vulnerability specifically affects the tasklists functionality within the Pinboard application, where user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being rendered back to other users. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious script code within tasklist entries that gets executed in the context of other users' browsers when they view these tasklists.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices within the Pinboard application's tasklist handling mechanism. When users create or modify tasklists, the application fails to properly escape special characters or sanitize user-provided content before storing and displaying it. This allows malicious actors to inject HTML tags, javascript code, or other malicious payloads that execute in the browser context of legitimate users who access the affected tasklists. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates entirely within the application's user interface without requiring any privileged access or authentication, making it easily exploitable by remote attackers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of user content, and redirection to malicious websites. An attacker could craft a tasklist entry containing javascript that steals cookies or session tokens from users viewing the tasklist, effectively taking control of their authenticated sessions. Additionally, the vulnerability could be used to inject malicious content that modifies the application's interface or displays fraudulent information to users. This type of attack directly violates the principle of least privilege and can compromise the integrity and confidentiality of user data within the Pinboard environment.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-1900 should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's codebase. The recommended approach involves sanitizing all user-provided input through the use of HTML entity encoding, implementing strict content type validation, and employing a whitelist-based approach for acceptable characters in tasklist entries. Organizations should also consider implementing a Content Security Policy to limit the execution of inline scripts and restrict the sources from which scripts can be loaded. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and the ATT&CK framework's T1203 technique for credential access through session hijacking. Regular security audits and input validation testing should be integrated into the development lifecycle to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future versions of the application.