CVE-2005-2863 in Open Webmail
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in openwebmail-main.pl in OpenWebMail 2.41 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the sessionid parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2863 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the OpenWebMail 2.41 webmail application. This security weakness resides in the openwebmail-main.pl script which processes user session identifiers, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability specifically targets the sessionid parameter, which serves as the primary injection vector for this XSS attack.
The technical implementation of this flaw stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the OpenWebMail application's session management mechanism. When the application processes the sessionid parameter without proper sanitization, it fails to escape or encode special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code by web browsers. This creates a persistent vulnerability where attacker-controlled data flows directly into the application's output without appropriate security measures to prevent code injection.
From an operational perspective, this XSS vulnerability poses significant risks to both individual users and organizational security postures. An attacker could exploit this weakness to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, deface webmail interfaces, or execute malicious scripts that persistently compromise user browsers. The impact extends beyond simple data theft as the vulnerability can be leveraged to establish persistent backdoors within user sessions, potentially enabling more sophisticated attacks including credential theft, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations relying on OpenWebMail 2.41 for email services, where compromised user sessions could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive corporate communications.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection and T1566 for social engineering through malicious web content. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in session management. The recommended approach involves implementing proper HTML escaping for all dynamic content, deploying Content Security Policy (CSP) headers, and ensuring that session identifiers are properly sanitized before being processed or displayed. Additionally, upgrading to a patched version of OpenWebMail or implementing web application firewalls with XSS detection capabilities provides effective remediation strategies. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in web applications and highlights how seemingly simple parameter handling can create substantial security risks when proper sanitization measures are not implemented.