CVE-2005-3023 in vBulletin
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in vBulletin 3.0.9 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via certain arguments to (1) announcement.php, (2) admincalendar.php, (3) bbcode.php, (4) cronadmin.php, (5) email.php, (6) faq.php, (7) forum.php, (8) image.php, (9) language.php, (10) ranks.php, (11) replacement.php, (12) replacement.php, (13) template.php, (14) template.php, (15) usergroup.php, or (16) usertitle.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/12/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3023 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness affecting vBulletin versions 3.0.9 and earlier, which constitutes a fundamental flaw in web application security architecture. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, creating a persistent threat vector that can compromise user sessions and data integrity. The flaw manifests across multiple administrative and user-facing php scripts, indicating a systemic failure in input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within the application's codebase. The vulnerability affects core functionality including announcements, calendar management, bbcode processing, cron job administration, email handling, frequently asked questions display, forum operations, image processing, language management, rank definitions, replacement operations, template management, user group configurations, and user title definitions, demonstrating the widespread nature of the security gap.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of user-supplied input parameters passed to various php scripts within the vBulletin framework. When these applications process arguments without proper validation or encoding, they fail to distinguish between legitimate user data and potentially malicious script code. This weakness directly maps to CWE-79, which defines cross-site scripting as the failure to properly encode output data, allowing attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where user input is directly embedded into web responses without appropriate context-aware encoding or validation, making it particularly dangerous for administrative interfaces where elevated privileges could be compromised. Attackers can exploit these entry points by crafting malicious payloads that leverage the application's failure to sanitize parameters in these specific php files, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized administrative access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, creating significant risks for organizations relying on vBulletin for community forums and collaborative platforms. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of victim browsers, potentially allowing them to steal session cookies, modify forum content, or redirect users to malicious sites. The presence of multiple affected files increases the attack surface significantly, as different vectors exist for injection attempts, making comprehensive protection challenging. Administrative scripts like cronadmin.php and admincalendar.php present particular risk since they often operate with elevated privileges, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate critical system functions. The vulnerability's persistence across both user-facing and administrative interfaces suggests a fundamental architectural weakness in the application's security model, where input handling mechanisms were not consistently applied throughout the codebase. This represents a classic example of insufficient input validation that violates security best practices and industry standards.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-3023 require immediate implementation of multiple security controls to protect affected systems. Organizations should prioritize upgrading to vBulletin versions 3.0.10 or later, where these vulnerabilities have been addressed through proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Additionally, implementing comprehensive input validation at all application entry points, including the specific php files mentioned, can prevent malicious script injection attempts. Web application firewalls should be configured to monitor for suspicious script patterns in request parameters, while output encoding should be enforced for all dynamic content generated by the application. The remediation process should include thorough code auditing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components, as this flaw demonstrates a pattern of inadequate security implementation that may exist elsewhere in the codebase. Security teams should also implement regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify potential injection points that may not have been covered by the initial patching efforts, ensuring that the application maintains robust defenses against evolving attack vectors.