CVE-2005-2065 in ASP-Nuke
Summary
by MITRE
HTTP response splitting vulnerability in language_select.asp in ASP Nuke 0.80 allows remote attackers to spoof web content and poison web caches via CRLF ("%0d%0a") sequences in the LangCode parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2065 represents a critical HTTP response splitting flaw discovered in the language_select.asp component of ASP Nuke version 0.80. This vulnerability resides within the web application's handling of user input parameters, specifically the LangCode parameter that controls language selection for the application interface. The flaw allows malicious actors to inject carriage return line feed sequences into HTTP responses, fundamentally compromising the integrity of web communications. The vulnerability operates at the application layer of the network stack, specifically affecting the HTTP protocol implementation within the web server's response handling mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize or validate user input before incorporating it into HTTP response headers or body content. When an attacker submits a crafted LangCode parameter containing CRLF sequences encoded as %0d%0a, the application processes these sequences without adequate filtering, allowing the injection of malicious HTTP headers. This injection enables attackers to manipulate the HTTP response stream, potentially inserting additional headers or modifying existing ones to redirect subsequent requests or inject malicious content. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-113, which describes improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through social engineering attacks that leverage web application vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple content spoofing to encompass serious security implications including web cache poisoning, session hijacking, and cross-site scripting attacks. When web caches are poisoned with malicious responses containing injected content, legitimate users may receive compromised content from the cache rather than the intended legitimate response. This vulnerability also enables attackers to perform HTTP response splitting attacks that can lead to session fixation, where attackers manipulate session cookies to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. The exploitation of this vulnerability can result in complete compromise of user sessions, data theft, and the ability to execute arbitrary commands within the application context, making it particularly dangerous for web applications handling sensitive user information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-2065 should prioritize immediate input validation and sanitization of all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in HTTP response construction. Organizations should implement proper encoding and escaping of user input before incorporating it into HTTP headers or response content, ensuring that CRLF sequences are properly neutralized or removed. The application should validate the LangCode parameter against a whitelist of approved language codes, rejecting any input containing special characters or sequences that could be used for injection attacks. Security patches and updates to the ASP Nuke platform should be applied immediately, as this vulnerability has been widely documented and exploited in the wild. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and security monitoring systems can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components. Network-level protections such as HTTP header sanitization and cache poisoning detection mechanisms should also be implemented to provide defense-in-depth against this class of vulnerability.