CVE-2005-2336 in Hiki
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Hiki 0.8.0 to 0.8.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via "missing pages" in which the page name is not properly escaped, a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-2803.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/11/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-2336 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw affecting the Hiki wiki software version 0.8.0 through 0.8.2. This security weakness specifically manifests when the application handles "missing pages" functionality, where users attempt to access pages that do not exist within the wiki system. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application's handling of page names, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content into the system.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs within the page name processing logic where the system fails to properly escape special characters in page identifiers before rendering them in web responses. When users attempt to access non-existent pages, the application displays error messages or prompts that include the requested page name without adequate sanitization. This allows attackers to craft malicious page names containing script tags or other HTML elements that get executed in the context of other users' browsers when they encounter these error messages. The vulnerability operates under CWE-79 which categorizes improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically targeting the failure to properly escape output data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. When users browse to pages that trigger the XSS condition, their browsers execute the injected scripts within the context of the vulnerable wiki application, potentially compromising their sessions and allowing attackers to perform unauthorized actions. This vulnerability particularly affects collaborative environments where multiple users interact with the wiki system, as the malicious scripts can persistently compromise user sessions and potentially escalate to more severe attacks such as privilege escalation within the application.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability differs from CVE-2005-2803, indicating that multiple XSS flaws exist within the same software version, each with distinct triggering conditions. The remediation approach involves implementing proper output encoding for all user-provided data before rendering it in web contexts, specifically addressing the missing page functionality where page names are displayed. Organizations should apply the vendor-provided patches or upgrade to versions that properly escape output data, following the principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and MITRE ATT&CK framework's web application security categories. The fix typically requires modifying the application's template rendering logic to ensure that all user-supplied page names undergo HTML entity encoding when displayed in error messages or navigation contexts.