CVE-2005-2332 in PHPPageProtect
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in PHPPageProtect 1.0.0a allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the username parameter to (1) admin.php or (2) login.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2332 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within PHPPageProtect version 1.0.0a, a web application security tool designed to protect web pages through authentication mechanisms. This weakness resides in the application's handling of user input within the authentication workflow, specifically affecting the username parameter that is processed by two core administrative scripts: admin.php and login.php. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the PHPPageProtect application. When users submit their username through the authentication forms, the application fails to properly escape or validate the input before incorporating it into the web page response. This omission creates a direct pathway for attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML content through the username parameter. The flaw manifests as a classic reflected XSS vulnerability, where the malicious payload is reflected back to the user's browser without being stored on the server, making it particularly dangerous in web application contexts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, creating significant security risks for organizations utilizing PHPPageProtect. Attackers could exploit this weakness to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform unauthorized actions within the application's administrative interface. The vulnerability affects the core authentication mechanism, potentially allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to administrative functions or manipulate the authentication flow. Given that this affects both admin.php and login.php scripts, the attack surface is substantial, as these components typically handle sensitive user credentials and administrative operations. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that attackers could craft malicious URLs that, when clicked by authenticated users, would execute the injected code in their browsers.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of established frameworks such as CWE-79, which classifies cross-site scripting as a fundamental web application security weakness. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a web application attack vector under the T1190 technique for exploitation of vulnerabilities in web applications. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, output encoding, and proper sanitization of all user-supplied data before rendering it in web responses. The most effective remediation involves implementing proper HTML escaping for all dynamic content, implementing Content Security Policy headers, and ensuring that all user inputs undergo strict validation before being processed or displayed. Additionally, organizations should consider upgrading to newer versions of PHPPageProtect or migrating to more robust authentication solutions that have addressed such vulnerabilities through proper security development lifecycle practices.