CVE-2005-4494 in SPIP
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in SPIP 1.8.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified parameters to (1) spip_login.php3 and (2) spip_pass.php3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4494 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting SPIP content management systems version 1.8.2 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the authentication and password recovery components of the system, specifically in the spip_login.php3 and spip_pass.php3 scripts. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected users' browsers, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive information and session hijacking.
This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a weakness in web applications that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The technical implementation of this flaw occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user input parameters that are processed by the login and password recovery scripts. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious payloads that get executed when the vulnerable scripts process these inputs, thereby bypassing the normal security boundaries of the web application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it directly compromises the integrity of user sessions and authentication mechanisms within the SPIP system. When exploited, the XSS attack can enable attackers to steal user credentials, manipulate session tokens, or redirect users to malicious websites. The vulnerability affects the core authentication functionality of the system, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged to gain unauthorized access to administrative accounts or user data. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it targets the login and password recovery pages, which are frequently accessed and often contain sensitive user information.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the SPIP system to version 1.8.3 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms in the affected scripts is crucial. The application should sanitize all user inputs before processing them and ensure that any dynamic content is properly escaped to prevent script execution. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional layers of defense, while security monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious script injection attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies to further restrict script execution within the application environment, aligning with established security frameworks and best practices for preventing cross-site scripting attacks.