CVE-2003-1506 in DansGuardian
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in dansguardian.pl in Adelix CensorNet 3.0 through 3.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary script as other users by injecting arbitrary HTML or script into the DENIEDURL parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/31/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1506 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the dansguardian.pl component of Adelix CensorNet versions 3.0 through 3.2. This security weakness resides in the application's handling of user input parameters, specifically the DENIEDURL parameter that is processed during web content filtering operations. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before it is rendered back to end users within the web interface. This allows malicious actors to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that executes in the context of other users' browsers, effectively enabling session hijacking and unauthorized access to protected resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the dansguardian.pl script processes the DENIEDURL parameter without adequate sanitization measures. When users encounter blocked content, the system displays a denial page that incorporates the URL parameter directly into the HTML response without proper escaping or encoding. This creates an environment where attackers can craft malicious URLs containing script tags or other HTML elements that get executed when the denial page is rendered. The flaw manifests as a classic reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability, where the malicious payload is injected through a web request and immediately reflected back to the victim's browser without any persistent storage or server-side processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise entire user sessions and potentially lead to full system compromise. An attacker could craft malicious URLs that, when accessed by unsuspecting users, would execute scripts that steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations using Adelix CensorNet for content filtering, where the application serves as a gateway for user web access. The attack surface is significant since the vulnerability can be exploited through various means including phishing emails, social engineering campaigns, or by manipulating web links that users might encounter during normal browsing activities. Organizations relying on this filtering solution face potential exposure to credential theft, data exfiltration, and unauthorized administrative access.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2003-1506 should focus on immediate input validation and output encoding improvements within the dansguardian.pl script. The most effective approach involves implementing proper HTML entity encoding for all user-supplied input before rendering it in the web interface, ensuring that special characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and script tags are properly escaped. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and prevent unauthorized code injection. Additionally, the affected Adelix CensorNet versions should be updated to patched releases that address the input validation deficiencies. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering through phishing attacks that leverage XSS vulnerabilities to deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their web applications to identify similar input validation weaknesses that could be exploited in similar fashion, as this vulnerability represents a common pattern in web application security flaws that require systematic input sanitization approaches.