CVE-2005-0859 in CzarNews
Summary
by MITRE
PHP remote file inclusion vulnerability in CzarNews 1.13b allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code via the tpath parameter to (1) headlines.php or (2) news.php. NOTE: some sources have reported the "dir" parameter as being affected; however, this is likely a cut-and-paste error from the wrong section of the original vulnerability report. Also, the news.php version was later reported to be in 1.12 through 1.14.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-0859 represents a critical remote file inclusion flaw in CzarNews version 1.13b and related versions ranging from 1.12 to 1.14. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-88 category known as "Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command" and more specifically aligns with CWE-94 which covers "Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')." The flaw exists in the web application's handling of user-supplied input parameters, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject and execute arbitrary PHP code on the target server.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the tpath parameter within two specific script files: headlines.php and news.php. When an attacker supplies a malicious value to the tpath parameter, the application fails to properly validate or sanitize this input before using it in file inclusion operations. This allows the attacker to specify a remote URL containing malicious PHP code that gets executed on the server hosting CzarNews. The vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation practices and highlights the dangerous consequences of directly incorporating user input into file path operations without proper sanitization mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and potentially catastrophic for affected systems. Remote attackers can leverage this flaw to gain complete control over the vulnerable web server, execute arbitrary commands, access sensitive data, and potentially establish persistent backdoors. The vulnerability enables attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including data exfiltration, privilege escalation, and system compromise. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1190 "Exploit Public-Facing Application" and T1059.007 "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PHP," representing the exploitation of publicly accessible web applications and the execution of malicious code through PHP interpreter manipulation. The widespread nature of PHP-based applications makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can affect numerous web servers running vulnerable versions of CzarNews.
The remediation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of multiple security controls. Organizations should apply the vendor-provided patch or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version of CzarNews immediately. The core fix involves implementing strict input validation and sanitization for all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in file inclusion operations. The application should employ whitelisting mechanisms to restrict file paths to predefined safe directories and reject any input containing suspicious characters or protocols. Additionally, implementing proper parameter validation using functions like filter_var() with appropriate filters can prevent malicious input from being processed. Security configurations should also include disabling remote file inclusion features in PHP settings and implementing proper access controls to limit what files can be included or executed. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications and ensure that input validation mechanisms are consistently applied across the entire codebase.