CVE-2006-0676 in PHP-Nuke
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in header.php in PHP-Nuke 6.0 to 7.8 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the pagetitle parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/19/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-0676 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in PHP-Nuke versions 6.0 through 7.8, specifically within the header.php component of the application. This security weakness resides in the improper handling of user-supplied input during the rendering of page titles, creating an exploitable condition that allows malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic XSS attack vector where the application fails to adequately sanitize or escape user-provided data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content, thereby enabling persistent or reflected script execution in the victim's browser environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the lack of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the PHP-Nuke framework's header.php file. When the system processes the pagetitle parameter, it directly incorporates this value into the HTML output without sufficient sanitization measures, allowing attackers to craft malicious payloads that exploit the application's failure to escape special characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and script tags. This flaw operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration classification CWE-79, which specifically addresses "Cross-site Scripting" vulnerabilities characterized by insufficient sanitization of input data before its inclusion in web pages. The vulnerability enables attackers to execute scripts in the context of the victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of authenticated users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with a pathway to compromise user sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive data within the PHP-Nuke application. Remote attackers can leverage this weakness to inject malicious scripts that may redirect users to phishing sites, steal session cookies, or manipulate the application's functionality through DOM-based attacks. The vulnerability affects all versions from 6.0 through 7.8, indicating a long-standing issue within the PHP-Nuke codebase that persisted across multiple releases, suggesting inadequate security review processes during development cycles. This weakness aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment" and T1059.001 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: Visual Basic" when considering the potential for attackers to establish persistent malicious presence through crafted payloads that leverage the vulnerable input parameter.
The exploitation of CVE-2006-0676 requires minimal technical expertise and can be accomplished through simple HTTP requests containing malicious payload data within the pagetitle parameter. Attackers typically construct payloads using JavaScript code that executes when the vulnerable page loads, potentially including code to steal cookies, redirect to malicious domains, or perform other harmful actions. The vulnerability's persistence depends on whether the application stores the malicious input or simply reflects it in the current page response, with stored XSS variants being particularly dangerous as they affect all users who subsequently view the compromised page. Organizations running affected PHP-Nuke versions face significant risk of user data compromise, application integrity violations, and potential full system exploitation if attackers can leverage this vulnerability as a foothold for further attacks. Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation, output encoding, and the principle of least privilege in application design, while also considering the immediate need for patching or upgrading to secure versions of the PHP-Nuke framework.