CVE-2005-1428 in Uphotogallery
Summary
by MITRE
edit_image.asp in Uapplication Uphotogallery allows remote attackers to upload arbitrary files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1428 resides within the Uphotogallery web application produced by Uapplication, specifically in the edit_image.asp component. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that enables remote attackers to upload arbitrary files to the target system without proper authentication or authorization. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and file upload restrictions within the web application's image editing functionality, creating an exploitable pathway for malicious actors to bypass security controls and potentially execute arbitrary code on the affected server.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-434, which describes insecure file upload scenarios where applications fail to properly validate file types, sizes, or contents before storing uploaded files. The flaw occurs because the edit_image.asp script does not adequately verify the file extensions or MIME types of uploaded content, allowing attackers to submit malicious files such as web shells, executable scripts, or other harmful payloads. This weakness operates at the application layer and can be exploited through HTTP POST requests targeting the vulnerable upload endpoint, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no special privileges to exploit.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations using the Uphotogallery application. Attackers who successfully exploit this flaw can gain persistent access to the web server, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or use of the compromised server as a launch point for further attacks within the network. The vulnerability also enables attackers to deploy web shells that provide them with ongoing access to the system, making it difficult to detect and remediate. Additionally, the ability to upload arbitrary files can result in denial of service conditions, unauthorized data modification, or the installation of malware that persists across system reboots.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of mitigation to address this vulnerability. The primary remediation involves validating file extensions against a strict whitelist of allowed types, implementing proper MIME type checking, and ensuring uploaded files are stored in a separate directory with restricted permissions. Organizations should also employ input sanitization techniques and consider implementing content validation to prevent execution of malicious code within uploaded files. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter), highlighting the attack vectors and techniques that threat actors can employ when exploiting such upload vulnerabilities. Regular security audits, proper access controls, and network segmentation practices can further reduce the risk of exploitation and limit the potential damage from successful attacks.