CVE-2005-2638 in PHPFreeNews
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in PHPFreeNews 1.40 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) NewsMode parameter to NewsCategoryForm.php, or the (2) Match or (3) NewsMode parameter to SearchResults.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2638 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness affecting PHPFreeNews version 1.40 and earlier implementations. This flaw resides in the web application's handling of user-supplied input parameters within specific script files, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code within the context of a victim's browser session. The vulnerability manifests through three distinct attack vectors that exploit improper input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application's core functionality.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs in two primary locations within the PHPFreeNews codebase. The first vector involves the NewsMode parameter within NewsCategoryForm.php, while the second and third vectors target the Match and NewsMode parameters respectively in SearchResults.php. These parameters are processed without adequate sanitization or encoding mechanisms, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that will execute when other users view the affected pages. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where applications fail to properly validate or encode user-provided data before including it in dynamically generated web pages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, deface web applications, steal sensitive user information, or redirect victims to malicious websites. When exploited, these XSS vulnerabilities allow remote attackers to manipulate the user interface of the vulnerable application, potentially compromising user authentication tokens, cookies, or other sensitive session data. The attack requires minimal privileges and can be executed through standard web browser interactions, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users trust the application's content.
Security practitioners should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. The primary remediation involves input validation and output encoding of all user-supplied parameters before they are processed or displayed within the application. Specifically, developers must ensure that the NewsMode, Match, and other relevant parameters are properly sanitized using appropriate encoding mechanisms such as HTML entity encoding or context-appropriate sanitization functions. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against script execution, while regular security code reviews and automated vulnerability scanning should be integrated into development workflows. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adheres to ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers can leverage these vulnerabilities to execute malicious scripts within user browsers, potentially leading to further compromise through techniques such as credential theft or privilege escalation within the application environment.