CVE-2004-1470 in Snipsnap
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in SnipSnap 0.5.2a, and other versions before 1.0b1, allows remote attackers to perform HTTP Response Splitting attacks to modify expected HTML content from the server.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2025
The CVE-2004-1470 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in SnipSnap content management system versions prior to 1.0b1, specifically affecting version 0.5.2a and earlier releases. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the application's handling of user-supplied data, creating an avenue for malicious actors to exploit HTTP response splitting techniques. The flaw occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize or encode user input that is subsequently included in HTTP response headers, allowing attackers to inject carriage return line feed sequences that manipulate the server's response structure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of HTTP headers through CRLF (Carriage Return Line Feed) sequences, which are standard control characters used to terminate lines in HTTP protocols. When SnipSnap processes user input without proper sanitization, attackers can inject these sequences into parameters that are later used in HTTP response generation. This injection allows adversaries to split the original HTTP response into multiple responses, potentially enabling them to inject malicious content such as JavaScript payloads, redirect users to phishing sites, or manipulate session cookies. The vulnerability specifically impacts the server's ability to maintain proper response boundaries, creating opportunities for cross-site scripting attacks and session hijacking.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of the HTTP communication channel between client and server. Attackers can leverage this flaw to inject arbitrary content into web pages served by the vulnerable SnipSnap instance, potentially leading to unauthorized access to user sessions, data theft, or complete compromise of the web application. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in publicly accessible web environments. This weakness directly violates the principle of secure input handling and proper HTTP response construction that is fundamental to web application security.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-1470 should prioritize immediate application updates to versions 1.0b1 or later where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive input filtering that removes or encodes CRLF sequences from user-supplied data before processing, particularly in parameters that are used to construct HTTP headers or response content. The implementation of proper output encoding techniques and the use of secure coding practices that prevent direct injection of user data into HTTP response headers are essential defensive measures. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-117, which addresses improper output neutralization for logs, and represents a classic example of HTTP response splitting as outlined in various exploit frameworks. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious CRLF injection patterns, while establishing regular security audits to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other components of the web infrastructure.