CVE-2004-2200 in Duforum
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in DUware DUforum 3.0 through 3.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via via the message text.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/03/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2200 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw affecting DUware DUforum versions 3.0 through 3.1. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and operates as a critical security weakness in web applications that fail to properly validate or sanitize user input before rendering it in web pages. The specific implementation flaw occurs within the message text handling mechanism of the forum software, where user-provided content is directly embedded into HTML output without adequate sanitization measures.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability enables remote attackers to inject malicious scripts or HTML code into the forum's message text fields. When other users view these maliciously crafted messages, the injected code executes in their browsers within the context of the vulnerable forum's domain. This creates a persistent threat vector where attackers can perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of forum content, or redirection to malicious websites. The vulnerability specifically targets the input validation mechanisms that should normally filter out potentially dangerous HTML tags and script execution elements.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or theft. Attackers can leverage this weakness to compromise the entire user base of the affected forum, potentially gaining access to sensitive user information, manipulating forum content, and establishing persistent footholds within the organization's web presence. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the forum service, as malicious actors can deface pages, redirect users to phishing sites, or execute arbitrary code on victim machines. This creates a significant risk for organizations that rely on the forum for communication, knowledge sharing, or community engagement.
Security mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user input through proper HTML escaping and encoding techniques before rendering content in web pages. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and employ regular expression filtering to remove or escape dangerous HTML elements. Additionally, upgrading to patched versions of DUware DUforum or migrating to more secure forum solutions represents the most reliable long-term solution. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering through malicious content injection, and demonstrates the importance of proper input validation as outlined in OWASP Top 10 category A03: Injection.