CVE-2006-1842 in ShoutBOOK
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in global.php in ShoutBOOK 1.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) NAME and (2) COMMENTS parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2018
The CVE-2006-1842 vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw in the ShoutBOOK 1.1 web application, specifically within the global.php script. This vulnerability classifies under CWE-79 as a failure to sanitize user input before incorporating it into web pages, creating an avenue for malicious code execution. The vulnerability manifests through two distinct parameter injection points named NAME and COMMENTS, which are processed without adequate input validation or output encoding mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this weakness by submitting malicious script code through these parameters, which then gets executed in the context of other users' browsers when the affected page is rendered.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs because the ShoutBOOK application fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied data before displaying it on web pages. When users submit content through the NAME and COMMENTS fields, the application directly incorporates this data into HTML output without implementing proper security measures such as input filtering, output encoding, or Content Security Policy enforcement. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code, HTML tags, or other harmful payloads that execute in the browsers of unsuspecting users who view the affected content. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it enables persistent XSS attacks where malicious scripts can be stored on the server and executed whenever the affected page is accessed.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to both application integrity and user security. The impact extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to hijack user sessions, steal cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The persistence of the vulnerability means that once exploited, malicious scripts can continue to affect users until the application is patched or the malicious content is manually removed. This vulnerability also undermines user trust in the application and can result in legal and regulatory consequences for organizations that fail to address such security flaws in their web applications. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that ShoutBOOK was a guestbook application where users naturally expect to submit personal information, making it an ideal vector for social engineering attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach requires sanitizing all user inputs through proper encoding functions before rendering them in web pages, specifically implementing HTML entity encoding for the NAME and COMMENTS parameters. Organizations should also deploy Content Security Policy headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts and implement proper input validation to reject suspicious characters or patterns. Additionally, regular security code reviews and automated vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar flaws in other application components. The remediation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for scripting and T1566 for credential access, as this vulnerability can enable attackers to establish persistent access through malicious script execution. This vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in OWASP Top 10 and NIST guidelines for preventing web application vulnerabilities.