CVE-2005-4339 in Academic Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Blackboard Learning and Community Portal System in Academic Suite 6.3.1.424, 6.2.3.23, and other versions before 6 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the context parameter to announcement.pl, which is reflected in the resulting page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/04/2017
The CVE-2005-4339 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Blackboard Learning and Community Portal System's Academic Suite versions 6.3.1.424 and 6.2.3.23, as well as other affected releases prior to version 6. This vulnerability resides in the announcement.pl script which processes user input through the context parameter without proper sanitization or validation. The flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML code that gets reflected back to users in the application's response, creating a persistent security risk for the entire platform.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the Blackboard system's announcement processing module. When users submit announcements through the context parameter, the system fails to properly encode or sanitize the input before rendering it in the HTML response. This reflective XSS vulnerability enables attackers to craft malicious payloads that execute within the victim's browser context when they view the affected announcement page. The vulnerability specifically affects the announcement.pl script which serves as a core component for managing and displaying announcements within the learning management system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, creating significant risks for educational institutions utilizing Blackboard's Academic Suite. Attackers could exploit this flaw to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users within the system. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that successful exploitation requires users to click on a specially crafted link containing the malicious payload, but once executed, the attack can persist across multiple user sessions and potentially compromise sensitive educational data. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the learning management system's user data and session information.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data within the announcement system. The recommended approach involves implementing proper HTML encoding for all dynamic content before rendering it in web pages, particularly for parameters like context that are processed by announcement.pl. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing content security policies to prevent unauthorized script execution and establish robust input validation mechanisms that reject or sanitize potentially malicious content. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a classic example of how insufficient input validation can create persistent security risks in web applications. The ATT&CK framework would classify this as a web application vulnerability exploitation technique, specifically targeting the application layer to establish initial access and potentially escalate privileges within the educational environment.