CVE-2005-1072 in PunBB
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in PunBB before 1.2.5 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1072 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the PunBB bulletin board system prior to version 1.2.5. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The flaw exists in the application's handling of user-supplied data within the web interface, creating an environment where malicious actors can execute arbitrary scripts in the context of other users' browsers. PunBB, being a web-based discussion forum software, processes user inputs for display in forum threads, replies, and user profiles, making it susceptible to this particular attack vector.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize or encode user-provided content before rendering it within HTML pages. Attackers can craft malicious input containing script tags or other HTML elements that get executed when other users browse the affected forum pages. This occurs because the application does not implement adequate input validation or output encoding mechanisms to prevent the execution of malicious code within the browser context. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to inject scripts that can steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement. An attacker could exploit this flaw to hijack user sessions, particularly if users are logged into the forum with administrative privileges. The attack can be executed remotely without requiring any special access to the server infrastructure, making it highly scalable and dangerous in multi-user environments. Users who browse forum pages containing malicious content become victims of the attack, potentially leading to unauthorized access to private messages, user accounts, or even complete system compromise if administrators are targeted. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the entire forum ecosystem, as it undermines the trust users place in the platform's security measures.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper input sanitization and output encoding practices. System administrators should upgrade to PunBB version 1.2.5 or later, which includes patches addressing this specific weakness. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against script execution. The application should validate all user inputs against a whitelist of acceptable characters and encode all output data to prevent HTML interpretation of malicious content. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in user-generated content that might indicate attempted exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of their web infrastructure, following the principles outlined in the ATT&CK framework for web application attacks and defensive measures.