CVE-2006-0980 in CGI Calendar
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Jay Eckles CGI Calendar 2.7 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the year parameter in (1) index.cgi and (2) viewday.cgi.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/09/2017
The CVE-2006-0980 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in Jay Eckles CGI Calendar version 2.7, specifically affecting two key components of the web application. This vulnerability resides in the calendar's handling of user input parameters, particularly the year parameter which is processed through both index.cgi and viewday.cgi scripts. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers, creating a significant security risk for any organization relying on this calendar application.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the CGI scripts. When users provide a year parameter through the web interface, the application fails to properly sanitize or escape this input before incorporating it into dynamic web content. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML payloads directly into the application's output, which then executes in the browsers of unsuspecting users who access the affected calendar pages. The vulnerability is classified as a classic reflected XSS attack where malicious input is immediately reflected back to users without proper sanitization.
The operational impact of CVE-2006-0980 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable sophisticated attack vectors including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker could craft a malicious URL containing XSS payloads that, when clicked by a victim, would execute code in their browser context. This could lead to unauthorized access to calendar data, modification of events, or even complete compromise of user sessions. The vulnerability affects both the calendar's main index page and day viewing functionality, providing multiple attack surfaces for threat actors to exploit. Organizations using this calendar application face potential data breaches and unauthorized access risks that could compromise sensitive scheduling information and user privacy.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate input validation and output encoding implementations that sanitize all user-provided parameters before processing. The application should employ proper HTML escaping techniques for all dynamic content generation, ensuring that any user input is treated as data rather than executable code. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policies can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting script execution within the application context. Organizations should also consider upgrading to a more recent version of the calendar application or migrating to modern calendar solutions that have proper security measures built-in. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a common attack pattern categorized under ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in web applications and serves as a reminder of the persistent threat that unvalidated user input poses to web security infrastructure.