CVE-2005-3552 in PHPKIT
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in PHPKIT 1.6.1 R2 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via multiple vectors in (1) login/profile.php, (2) login/userinfo.php, (3) admin/admin.php, (4) imcenter.php, and the (5) referer statistics, the (6) HTML title element and (7) logo alt attributes in forum postings, and the (8) Homepage field in the Guestbook.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3552 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting PHPKIT version 1.6.1 R2 and earlier installations. This vulnerability manifests across multiple entry points within the application's web interface, creating widespread opportunities for malicious actors to execute unauthorized code in the context of victim browsers. The affected components span from core authentication pages to administrative interfaces and forum functionalities, demonstrating the comprehensive nature of the security weakness. Such vulnerabilities fall under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security flaw that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through multiple vectors that bypass proper input sanitization mechanisms within the PHPKIT application. Attackers can inject malicious scripts through the login/profile.php and login/userinfo.php pages, which are typically used for user authentication and profile management. The administrative interface at admin/admin.php presents another attack surface where malicious code can be injected, potentially allowing privilege escalation or complete system compromise. Additionally, the imcenter.php component and referer statistics functionality provide further opportunities for script injection, while the HTML title element and logo alt attributes in forum postings create persistent XSS vectors that affect all users viewing the malicious content. The guestbook's homepage field serves as a particularly insidious vector since it allows unfiltered input that gets rendered without proper sanitization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple script injection, as it enables attackers to perform sophisticated social engineering attacks, steal user sessions, and potentially gain administrative privileges within the application. When users browse to pages containing malicious scripts, their browsers execute the injected code, which can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The persistent nature of XSS attacks through forum postings and guestbook entries means that the malicious code continues to affect users long after the initial injection, creating a sustained threat vector. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving client-side code injection and session management compromise, with potential for lateral movement within compromised networks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address the root cause of insufficient input validation and output encoding throughout the application's codebase. Organizations should implement comprehensive input sanitization mechanisms that validate and escape all user-supplied data before processing or rendering. The application should employ proper output encoding techniques specifically designed to prevent script execution in HTML contexts. Regular security audits and code reviews should focus on identifying all input vectors and ensuring that appropriate sanitization measures are implemented. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting script execution. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of defense-in-depth strategies and highlights the critical need for secure coding practices throughout the software development lifecycle, particularly in applications handling user-generated content. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts while maintaining proper patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of security fixes.