CVE-2005-4387 in contenite
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in home.php in contenite 0.11 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the id parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4387 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw affecting contenite version 0.11 and earlier. This issue resides within the home.php script where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to web browsers. The vulnerability specifically targets the id parameter which serves as an entry point for malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code into the application's response. Such a flaw fundamentally undermines the security of web applications by allowing attackers to execute malicious code in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices within the contenite application framework. When the id parameter is passed to home.php without proper sanitization, the application directly incorporates user-supplied data into the HTTP response without adequate escaping or encoding mechanisms. This creates an environment where attackers can craft malicious payloads that exploit the browser's interpretation of HTML and JavaScript code. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications, making it a well-documented and widely recognized security weakness.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement. Attackers can leverage this XSS flaw to hijack user sessions, redirect victims to malicious websites, or even perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the system or any privileged credentials to exploit the vulnerability. This makes the flaw particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from anywhere on the internet, potentially affecting thousands of users who interact with the vulnerable contenite application. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 which covers the use of scripting languages for exploitation purposes.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-4387 require immediate implementation of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement strict sanitization of all user-supplied input parameters, particularly those that are directly rendered in web responses. The application should employ context-specific encoding for data output, ensuring that any user-provided content is properly escaped before being included in HTML contexts. Additionally, implementing a Content Security Policy (CSP) header can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to contenite version 0.12 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of their web infrastructure.