CVE-2005-3570 in Horde
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Horde before 2.2.9 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via "not properly escaped error messages".
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/12/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3570 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Horde web application framework prior to version 2.2.9. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which specifically addresses the failure to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into web page content. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to adequately escape error messages that are generated during processing, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code into the application's response.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of error message handling within the Horde application. When the system encounters an error condition, it typically generates an error message that is displayed to users. In versions prior to 2.2.9, these error messages were not properly sanitized or escaped, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads that would be executed in the context of other users' browsers. The attack vector is remote and does not require any special privileges or authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone who can interact with the vulnerable application. This vulnerability directly maps to the ATT&CK technique T1059.001 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell, although the specific execution occurs through web browser contexts rather than command line interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking. When successful, the XSS attack can enable more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft, session manipulation, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the application's user interactions, as any user who encounters the malicious error message will have the injected script executed in their browser context. This creates a persistent threat that can affect multiple users over time, especially in environments where the application is widely used and error conditions are common. The vulnerability essentially undermines the trust model of the web application by allowing unauthorized code execution in legitimate user sessions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing proper input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach is to ensure that all user-supplied data and error messages are properly escaped before being rendered in web pages, using appropriate encoding techniques such as HTML entity encoding for the specific context where the data appears. The fix implemented in Horde 2.2.9 likely involved comprehensive review and updating of error handling routines to ensure that all error messages are properly escaped before display. Organizations should also implement Content Security Policy headers to provide additional protection against XSS attacks, though this serves as defense-in-depth rather than a primary fix. Regular security code reviews and automated vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar issues in other parts of the application or related components. This vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and the principle of least privilege in web application development, where all user input should be treated as potentially malicious and properly validated and escaped before processing.