CVE-2005-1823 in X-Cart
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Qualiteam X-Cart 4.0.8 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) cat or (2) printable parameter to home.php, (3) productid or (4) mode parameter to product.php, (5) id parameter to error_message.php, (6) section parameter to help.php, (7) mode parameter to orders.php, (8) mode parameter to register.php, (9) mode parameter to search.php, or the (10) gcid or (11) gcindex parameter to giftcert.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/07/2025
The CVE-2005-1823 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting Qualiteam X-Cart version 4.0.8, a widely used e-commerce platform that facilitated online transactions for numerous businesses. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application's core components, creating multiple entry points for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code into the platform's dynamic content. The flaw specifically targets several key PHP scripts including home.php, product.php, error_message.php, help.php, orders.php, register.php, search.php, and giftcert.php, each serving distinct functional purposes within the e-commerce ecosystem. The vulnerability's classification as a CWE-79 (Cross-site Scripting) indicates a fundamental weakness in the application's data handling processes where user-supplied inputs are not properly escaped or filtered before being rendered in web responses, thereby allowing attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data corruption or display issues, as it enables attackers to compromise the entire user session and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive customer information. When attackers exploit these XSS vulnerabilities through parameters such as cat, printable, productid, mode, id, section, gcid, or gcindex, they can inject malicious scripts that execute in the victim's browser, potentially stealing session cookies, redirecting users to fraudulent sites, or modifying the website's content to spread further attacks. The attack vector operates entirely through web-based interactions, requiring no special privileges or local access, making it particularly dangerous for e-commerce platforms where users trust the integrity of the shopping experience. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 (Phishing with Social Engineering) and T1059.007 (Scripting) as attackers can leverage these flaws to create convincing phishing campaigns or establish persistent malicious presence within the platform.
The remediation strategy for CVE-2005-1823 requires immediate implementation of comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms across all affected scripts. Organizations should implement strict parameter validation for all user-supplied inputs, ensuring that special characters are properly escaped or filtered before processing. The solution involves applying context-specific encoding techniques such as HTML entity encoding for output rendering, implementing proper Content Security Policy headers, and upgrading to a patched version of X-Cart that addresses these vulnerabilities. Security measures should include regular input sanitization routines, parameterized queries to prevent injection attacks, and comprehensive testing of all user-facing interfaces. Additionally, organizations should deploy web application firewalls to monitor and filter malicious traffic patterns, establish robust logging mechanisms to detect exploitation attempts, and conduct regular security audits to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of input validation in web applications and the necessity of following secure coding practices to prevent such widespread XSS vulnerabilities that can compromise entire e-commerce ecosystems.