CVE-2005-2333 in SEO-Board
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in smilies_popup.php in SEO-Board 1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the doc parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2333 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in SEO-Board 1.0's smilies_popup.php component. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and specifically manifests as an unvalidated input issue where the doc parameter fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before incorporating it into the web page response. The flaw exists within the web application's user interface handling mechanism, where the application directly echoes user input without appropriate encoding or validation measures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers by manipulating the doc parameter through crafted HTTP requests. When a victim visits a page that includes the maliciously crafted URL containing the XSS payload, the script executes in the victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement of the affected web application. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it operates at the client-side execution level, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users trust the web application's content.
Operationally, this vulnerability poses significant risks to web application security and user privacy within the SEO-Board platform. Attackers can exploit this flaw to inject malicious JavaScript code that can steal cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or modify the application's interface to deceive users. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or any special privileges to carry out the attack, making it particularly dangerous in public-facing web applications. The XSS payload can be designed to persist across user sessions and potentially compromise multiple users depending on the application's access controls and user interaction patterns.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The recommended approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied input through the doc parameter by implementing proper HTML entity encoding before rendering any user-provided content. Additionally, developers should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts and establish proper input validation routines that reject or sanitize potentially malicious content. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through phishing and T1584.004 for establishing persistence through web shells, making it a critical concern for organizations implementing security controls. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads attempting to exploit this vulnerability. The remediation process requires immediate patching of the affected application version, with developers ensuring that all user input parameters are properly validated and encoded before being processed or displayed within the web interface to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in future releases.