CVE-2006-1906 in phpLister
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in index.php in jjgan852 phpLister 0.4.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the page parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-1906 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the jjgan852 phpLister 0.4.1 web application. This security weakness resides in the index.php file where user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being rendered back to web browsers. The specific parameter affected is the 'page' parameter, which serves as an entry point for malicious script injection. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious URLs that contain embedded JavaScript code or HTML content within the page parameter value. When unsuspecting users navigate to these specially crafted URLs, the malicious code executes within their browser context, potentially compromising their session cookies, redirecting them to malicious sites, or performing unauthorized actions on their behalf.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in web applications. This classification indicates that the flaw occurs when untrusted data is improperly embedded into web pages without appropriate validation, encoding, or sanitization measures. The attack vector operates through HTTP GET requests where the malicious payload is passed as a query parameter, making it particularly dangerous as it can be easily propagated through social engineering techniques or embedded in phishing emails. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental lack of input validation and output encoding practices that are essential for secure web application development.
From an operational impact perspective, this XSS vulnerability creates significant risks for both end users and system administrators. Users may experience session hijacking where attackers steal authentication tokens and impersonate legitimate users to access restricted areas of the application. Additionally, the vulnerability could enable defacement of web pages, data theft, or redirection to malicious sites that could further compromise user systems. The attack requires minimal technical expertise to execute, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by attackers with basic web security knowledge. Organizations using this vulnerable version of phpLister face potential regulatory compliance issues, as XSS vulnerabilities are commonly cited in security audits and penetration testing assessments. The impact extends beyond immediate user compromise to potential escalation of privileges and data exfiltration.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective immediate solution involves sanitizing all user-provided input, particularly the 'page' parameter, by implementing strict validation rules that reject or encode potentially dangerous characters and script tags. Organizations should adopt a defense-in-depth approach that includes content security policies, proper HTTP headers configuration, and regular security code reviews. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in OWASP Top Ten and NIST guidelines for web application security. Patch management procedures should be implemented to ensure timely updates to vulnerable software components, while also conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar issues in other application modules. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts.