CVE-2004-1730 in Mantis
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Mantis bugtracker allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via (1) the return parameter to login_page.php, (2) e-mail field in signup.php, (3) action parameter to login_select_proj_page.php, or (4) hide_status parameter to view_all_set.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/24/2019
The CVE-2004-1730 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the Mantis bugtracking system that exposes multiple attack vectors allowing remote adversaries to execute malicious scripts within victim browsers. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and specifically manifests in the context of web application security where user input is inadequately sanitized before being rendered back to users. The affected Mantis version demonstrates a fundamental weakness in input validation and output encoding practices that directly enables attacker-controlled code execution in the browser context of legitimate users.
The technical exploitation occurs through four distinct parameters across different PHP pages within the application. The first vector involves the return parameter in login_page.php where unvalidated user input can be manipulated to inject malicious scripts that execute when the user navigates to the login page. The second vulnerability exists in the email field of signup.php where the registration process fails to properly sanitize email addresses, allowing attackers to submit malicious payloads that persist in the application's user database. The third attack vector targets the action parameter in login_select_proj_page.php, where the application processes user-provided action values without adequate validation, creating opportunities for script injection. The fourth and final vector involves the hide_status parameter in view_all_set.php where status filtering options are processed without proper sanitization, allowing attackers to inject malicious content that executes when the filtered view is displayed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution to encompass potential data theft, session hijacking, and privilege escalation within the application environment. Attackers can leverage these vectors to steal user credentials, manipulate application data, or redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple application pages indicates a systemic flaw in the application's security architecture rather than isolated incidents, suggesting that the development team failed to implement consistent input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the codebase. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates poor security hygiene in web application development practices.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-1730 require immediate implementation of comprehensive input validation and output encoding across all user-controllable parameters. Organizations should implement strict sanitization routines that filter out or escape potentially dangerous characters including angle brackets, script tags, and other malicious constructs before any user input is processed or stored. The application should employ context-specific encoding mechanisms that properly escape HTML, JavaScript, and URL components based on where the data will be rendered. Additionally, implementing a robust content security policy can provide an additional layer of protection against script execution. Security patches should be applied immediately to upgrade to versions that properly address these vulnerabilities, and developers should conduct thorough security reviews of all input handling mechanisms to prevent similar issues in future releases. This vulnerability serves as a classic example of how insufficient input validation can lead to widespread security compromise in web applications and aligns with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the web application attack tactics.