CVE-2005-3973 in Drupal
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Drupal 4.5.0 through 4.5.5 and 4.6.0 through 4.6.3 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via various HTML tags and values, such as the (1) legend tag and the value parameter used in (2) label and (3) input tags, possibly due to an incomplete blacklist.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2019
The vulnerability CVE-2005-3973 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness affecting Drupal content management systems version 4.5.0 through 4.5.5 and 4.6.0 through 4.6.3. This security flaw resides in the core application's handling of HTML input validation, specifically demonstrating a failure in proper sanitization mechanisms that allow malicious actors to inject harmful scripts into web applications. The vulnerability operates through three distinct attack vectors involving HTML tag manipulation, with particular focus on the legend tag and value parameters within label and input tags. These attack surfaces expose the system to remote code execution risks where attackers can manipulate user sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from an incomplete blacklist approach to input validation, which represents a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture. According to CWE-79, this maps directly to Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities where the application fails to properly validate or escape user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. The incomplete blacklist methodology creates a false sense of security since it relies on maintaining an exhaustive list of dangerous patterns rather than implementing robust input sanitization or output encoding. This approach is particularly problematic in web applications where the attack surface continues to expand with new HTML elements and attributes that may not be accounted for in the static blacklist.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, creating potential pathways for session hijacking, credential theft, and unauthorized administrative access within the Drupal environment. Attackers can exploit these XSS flaws to manipulate the user interface of vulnerable sites, redirect users to malicious domains, or execute persistent scripts that remain active across user sessions. The vulnerability affects both the content management system's administrative interfaces and public-facing user input fields, making it particularly dangerous for websites that rely heavily on user-generated content or interactive forms. This weakness can be leveraged to establish persistent backdoors within the application, potentially allowing attackers to maintain long-term access to compromised systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-3973 require immediate implementation of comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement proper HTML escaping routines that encode all user-supplied data before rendering in web pages, effectively neutralizing script execution attempts. The recommended approach involves moving from blacklist-based validation to whitelist-based input sanitization, where only explicitly allowed characters and patterns are permitted. Security patches should be applied immediately to upgrade to Drupal versions that have addressed these vulnerabilities, with proper testing to ensure that the fixes do not introduce compatibility issues. Additionally, implementing content security policies and regular security audits can provide additional layers of protection against similar vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a web application vulnerability exploitation technique, specifically falling under the category of code injection attacks that leverage incomplete input validation as the primary attack vector.