CVE-2006-1407 in Helm Web Hosting Control Panel
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Helm Web Hosting Control Panel 3.2.10 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) txtDomainName parameter to domains.asp or (2) SearchText or (3) UserLevel parameters to default.asp.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/01/2024
The CVE-2006-1407 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the Helm Web Hosting Control Panel version 3.2.10 and earlier systems. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability specifically affects the administrative interface of the Helm control panel, a widely used web hosting management system that provides web hosting providers with tools to manage customer accounts, domains, and server configurations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through three distinct parameter injection points within the control panel's web interface. The first attack vector involves the txtDomainName parameter in the domains.asp page, where unvalidated user input is directly incorporated into the web response without proper sanitization or encoding. The second and third vectors target the SearchText and UserLevel parameters respectively in the default.asp page, demonstrating a pattern of insufficient input validation across multiple interface components. These parameters are processed server-side without adequate sanitization measures, allowing malicious input to be executed as part of the web page content rather than being treated as data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for web hosting providers and their customers. An attacker could exploit these XSS vulnerabilities to execute malicious scripts in the context of any authenticated user's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized access to customer accounts. The attack could be particularly devastating because the Helm control panel typically provides administrative access to hosting environments, meaning that successful exploitation could grant attackers elevated privileges within the hosting infrastructure. This vulnerability also enables more sophisticated attacks such as phishing attempts where attackers could craft malicious pages that appear legitimate to users, or cookie theft that could be used to maintain persistent access to the control panel.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms across all user-facing parameters. The primary defense involves proper sanitization of all input data before it is processed or displayed, utilizing techniques such as HTML entity encoding, parameter validation, and the implementation of Content Security Policy headers. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, as well as conducting regular security assessments of their hosting control panel implementations. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 for Phishing and T1071 for Application Layer Protocol usage, emphasizing the need for robust input validation controls in web applications to prevent such persistent security weaknesses.