CVE-2006-1841 in boastMachine
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in search.php in boastMachine (bMachine) 2.7, and possibly other versions before 2.9b, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the key parameter, as used by the search field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2018
The cross-site scripting vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-1841 affects boastMachine version 2.7 and potentially earlier versions up to 2.9b, specifically within the search.php component of the application. This vulnerability resides in the handling of user input through the key parameter that is utilized by the search functionality. The flaw represents a classic XSS attack vector that enables malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content into the application's response, thereby compromising the security of users interacting with the affected system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the search.php script. When users enter search queries containing malicious payloads into the search field, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before incorporating it into the HTML response. This insufficient sanitization allows attackers to craft specially crafted search terms that contain script tags or other malicious HTML elements. The vulnerability specifically affects the key parameter, which is processed without adequate security measures to prevent code injection attacks. The flaw aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes improper neutralization of input during web page generation as a critical weakness in web application security.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary code within the context of the victim's browser session. An attacker could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The attack surface is particularly concerning because search functionality is typically one of the most accessed features in web applications, making this vulnerability highly exploitable. Users who perform searches on the affected system become potential victims, as the malicious scripts execute automatically when the search results are displayed.
Security professionals should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures to mitigate this vulnerability. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied input through proper encoding techniques such as HTML entity encoding before rendering any content in the browser. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks. Organizations should also consider adopting a defense-in-depth strategy that includes regular security assessments, input validation frameworks, and web application firewalls to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of validating and sanitizing all user input in web applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1203 which focuses on exploiting web application vulnerabilities for code execution. The remediation efforts should also include updating to version 2.9b or later where this vulnerability has been addressed, as well as conducting thorough security reviews of all application components that handle user input to prevent similar issues in the future.