CVE-2002-2376 in E-Guest
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in E-Guest_sign.pl in E-Guest 1.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary SSI directives, web script, and HTML via the (1) full name, (2) email, (3) homepage, and (4) location parameters. NOTE: this issue might overlap CVE-2005-1605.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2025
This cross-site scripting vulnerability exists in the E-Guest 1.1 web application's E-Guest_sign.pl script which fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into web responses. The flaw affects four specific parameters including full name, email, homepage, and location fields that are processed without adequate input validation or output encoding mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by submitting malicious payloads through these parameters that contain embedded script code or server-side includes which then get executed in the context of other users' browsers when they view the guestbook entries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper input sanitization and output encoding practices. When user-supplied data is directly embedded into HTML responses without proper escaping or filtering, it creates an environment where malicious scripts can be injected and executed. This represents a classic case of insecure input handling that aligns with CWE-79 which defines the vulnerability as the failure to sanitize user input before including it in dynamically generated web content. The vulnerability specifically allows for the injection of arbitrary SSI directives, web scripts, and HTML code which can lead to various malicious outcomes including session hijacking, defacement, or data exfiltration.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables remote attackers to compromise the security of the web application and its users. When exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in the browser context of other users, potentially leading to unauthorized access to user sessions, theft of sensitive information, or modification of web content. The attack can be performed without requiring authentication or privileged access, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone who can submit data to the vulnerable application. This vulnerability directly maps to attack techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under web application attacks where adversaries leverage input validation flaws to inject malicious content into web pages viewed by other users.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user input by removing or encoding potentially dangerous characters including angle brackets, quotes, and script tags before processing or storing the data. Additionally, implementing proper output encoding when displaying user-supplied content ensures that any malicious code is rendered harmless. The application should also consider implementing content security policies to prevent unauthorized script execution and use parameterized queries or prepared statements to prevent injection attacks. Regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the application. Organizations should also implement proper logging and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain up-to-date security patches for all web application components.