CVE-2005-0264 in Owl Intranet Engine
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in browse.php in OWL 0.7 and 0.8 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) expand or (2) order parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/29/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0264 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the OWL 0.7 and 0.8 web applications, specifically within the browse.php component. This issue falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that enables attackers to inject malicious client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability manifests through two distinct attack vectors involving the expand and order parameters, demonstrating the application's insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when remote attackers manipulate the expand or order parameters in the browse.php script, allowing them to inject arbitrary web script or HTML code. This injection happens because the application fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into dynamic web page content. When a victim visits a maliciously crafted URL containing the injected script, the script executes in the victim's browser within the context of the vulnerable application, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that these parameters are commonly used in web applications for sorting and expanding content, making them prime targets for exploitation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for organizations using OWL 0.7 or 0.8 systems, as it allows attackers to compromise user sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. The attack requires minimal technical expertise to execute, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users may inadvertently click on malicious links. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious links, and T1059.001 for command and control through script injection. Organizations may experience reputational damage, regulatory compliance issues, and potential data breaches when such vulnerabilities are exploited in production environments.
Effective mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-0264 require immediate implementation of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The primary solution involves sanitizing all user-supplied input through strict parameter validation and implementing context-appropriate output encoding before rendering dynamic content. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads, while also ensuring that all affected OWL versions are upgraded to patched releases. Security headers such as Content Security Policy should be implemented to limit script execution capabilities, and regular security testing including dynamic application security testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components. Additionally, comprehensive security awareness training for developers on secure coding practices and input validation techniques is essential to prevent similar issues in future application development cycles.