CVE-2003-1350 in List Site Pro
Summary
by MITRE
List Site Pro 2.0 allows remote attackers to hijack user accounts by inserting a "|" (pipe), which is used as a field delimiter, into the bannerurl field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/22/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1350 affects List Site Pro 2.0, a web-based directory submission system that enables users to register and manage website listings. This particular flaw represents a classic input validation weakness that can be exploited to manipulate the application's internal data processing mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically resides in how the application handles user input within the bannerurl field during the registration or update process for website listings.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate sanitization of user-supplied data within the bannerurl field, which serves as a critical parameter in the application's data storage and retrieval operations. When attackers insert a pipe character "|" into this field, they exploit the application's reliance on this character as a field delimiter for internal data structures. This delimiter-based parsing mechanism creates an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious data that can alter the intended data flow and potentially manipulate how user information is stored in the database. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental lack of proper input validation and sanitization, allowing attackers to craft malicious payloads that can disrupt normal application behavior.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it provides attackers with a mechanism to hijack user accounts through strategic injection of the pipe character. By carefully constructing the bannerurl field with the delimiter character, malicious actors can potentially manipulate how the application parses and stores user data, leading to unauthorized access to accounts and potential privilege escalation. The vulnerability affects the integrity of the application's data handling processes, potentially allowing attackers to modify user credentials, access restricted functionality, or redirect legitimate users to malicious websites. This type of vulnerability can be particularly dangerous in directory systems where multiple users contribute content, as it can enable widespread account compromise and data corruption.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which addresses improper input validation, and represents a form of injection attack that can be categorized under the broader ATT&CK framework's technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter. The flaw demonstrates how simple character injection can lead to complex security implications, particularly in applications that rely on delimiter-based data parsing without proper sanitization mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation measures, including character filtering, proper data sanitization, and robust field delimiter handling to prevent such exploitation opportunities. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices and the necessity of validating all user inputs against expected data formats and lengths to prevent similar injection vulnerabilities across web applications.
The remediation approach should focus on implementing strict input validation for all user-supplied data, particularly fields that are processed using delimiter-based parsing mechanisms. Application developers should sanitize input data by removing or escaping special characters that could be interpreted as delimiters, and implement proper data encoding techniques to ensure that user-supplied content cannot interfere with the application's internal data structures. Regular security testing and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in legacy applications, and organizations should consider migrating to more secure, modern frameworks that provide built-in protection against such injection attacks. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of input validation and the potential consequences of inadequate data sanitization in web applications that handle user-generated content.