CVE-2004-1418 in WPKontakt
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in WPKontakt 3.0.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via an e-mail address, which is not quoted when a parsing error is generated.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/25/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1418 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw that existed in WPKontakt version 3.0.1 and earlier. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of injection attacks and specifically maps to CWE-79 which defines "Cross-site Scripting (XSS)" as a weakness that occurs when an application incorporates untrusted data into web pages without proper validation or encoding. The flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user input during error handling processes, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves the application's handling of email addresses within its contact management system. When an email address contains invalid characters or formatting that triggers a parsing error, the system fails to properly quote or escape the email address before displaying it in error messages or user interfaces. This improper handling creates an XSS vector because the unescaped email address gets rendered directly into HTML content without appropriate sanitization. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious email addresses containing script tags or other HTML content that will execute when the error message is displayed to other users.
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, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious websites. The vulnerability's remote nature means attackers do not require local system access or authentication to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in web applications where users interact with contact management features. When users encounter error messages containing maliciously crafted email addresses, their browsers will execute the embedded scripts, potentially compromising their sessions and allowing attackers to impersonate legitimate users within the application context.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering tactics including the use of malicious email content to compromise systems. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly in error handling scenarios where user-supplied data may be displayed without proper sanitization. Organizations should implement comprehensive security measures including proper HTML escaping, input validation, and regular security assessments to prevent such vulnerabilities. The remediation approach should involve updating to the patched version of WPKontakt or implementing proper input sanitization measures that ensure all user-supplied data is properly escaped before being rendered in web contexts, thereby preventing the execution of malicious scripts through XSS vectors.