CVE-2006-0593 in PHP-Fusion
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in PHP-Fusion before 6.00.304 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) shout_name field in shoutbox_panel.php and the (2) comments field in comments_include.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/31/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-0593 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting PHP-Fusion content management systems prior to version 6.00.304. This vulnerability exists within the web application's input validation mechanisms, specifically targeting two distinct input fields that handle user-generated content. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of victims. The vulnerability manifests in two primary locations within the PHP-Fusion codebase, demonstrating a pattern of insufficient output encoding that fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it within web pages.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of proper input sanitization and output encoding measures in the shoutbox_panel.php and comments_include.php files. When users submit data through the shout_name field or comments field, the application fails to adequately validate or escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. This weakness directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities as a result of insufficient input validation and output encoding. The vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute in the victim's browser context, making it particularly dangerous for web applications that rely on user-generated content for functionality.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it enables attackers to manipulate the application's behavior and potentially compromise user sessions. When malicious code executes in a victim's browser, it can access session cookies, modify page content, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability affects both the shoutbox functionality and comment system, which are commonly used features in content management systems, amplifying the attack surface. This makes the vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors as it targets core application functionality that users frequently interact with, increasing the likelihood of successful exploitation.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability involve implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The recommended approach includes sanitizing all user input through proper encoding functions before rendering content in web pages, specifically implementing HTML entity encoding for output. The PHP-Fusion developers addressed this issue by releasing version 6.00.304 which included enhanced input validation and output sanitization routines. Organizations should also implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution, employ web application firewalls for additional protection, and conduct regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities to execute malicious code in user browsers.