CVE-2006-1673 in vBug Tracker
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in vbugs.php in Dark_Wizard vBug Tracker 3.5.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the sortorder parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-1673 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Dark_Wizard vBug Tracker version 3.5.1 and earlier systems. This security weakness resides in the vbugs.php script which fails to properly validate or sanitize user input parameters, specifically the sortorder parameter that is processed within the application's web interface. The vulnerability enables malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of a victim's browser session, potentially leading to unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization mechanisms within the vbugs.php file. When users interact with the bug tracking system and manipulate the sortorder parameter through web requests, the application directly incorporates this user-supplied data into dynamically generated HTML content without proper encoding or validation. This failure to implement proper input filtering creates an exploitable condition where attacker-controlled data can be injected into the web page's output stream, allowing for script execution in the victim's browser environment. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a failure to sanitize user input, which is a fundamental weakness in web application security design.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the targeted environment. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, deface the bug tracking interface, or execute persistent XSS attacks that could compromise multiple users over time. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that vBug Tracker is a bug management system that likely contains sensitive project information, user data, and potentially confidential bug reports. This vulnerability could be leveraged to gain unauthorized access to the system, escalate privileges, or conduct further reconnaissance activities against the organization's infrastructure. The attack can be executed remotely without requiring any special privileges or authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone who can access the vulnerable web interface.
Organizations utilizing Dark_Wizard vBug Tracker version 3.5.1 or earlier should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability. The primary remediation involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the vbugs.php script, specifically sanitizing the sortorder parameter before incorporating it into HTML responses. This approach aligns with the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for web application vulnerabilities, particularly focusing on input validation and output encoding techniques. The recommended solution includes implementing a whitelist-based approach for parameter validation, where only predefined safe values are accepted for the sortorder parameter, combined with proper HTML entity encoding of all user-supplied data before rendering in web pages. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers as an additional defensive layer to prevent unauthorized script execution, and conduct comprehensive security testing of all web applications to identify similar input validation weaknesses that could be exploited in similar contexts. The vulnerability serves as a critical reminder of the importance of secure coding practices and the necessity of implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect web applications from common injection vulnerabilities.