CVE-2006-2048 in phpWebFTP
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in index.php in Edwin van Wijk phpWebFTP 2.3 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) port, (2) server, and (3) user parameters. NOTE: it is possible that the affected version is actually 3.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/25/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-2048 represents a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability affecting phpWebFTP version 2.3, with potential impacts extending to version 3.2 according to the advisory notes. This vulnerability resides within the index.php file of the phpWebFTP application, which is a web-based file transfer protocol interface designed to provide remote access to FTP servers through a web browser interface. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of victim browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or other malicious activities that compromise user security and application integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the phpWebFTP application. Specifically, the port, server, and user parameters in the index.php file fail to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it in the web interface. When these parameters are processed and displayed without appropriate HTML escaping or encoding, malicious users can inject arbitrary JavaScript code or HTML content that executes within the browser context of legitimate users who access the affected application. This represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability where the malicious payload is embedded in the URL parameters and immediately reflected back to the user's browser.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it creates opportunities for attackers to establish persistent access to user sessions and potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that, when clicked by unsuspecting users, execute code in their browsers to steal session cookies, redirect them to malicious sites, or perform unauthorized actions on their behalf. The vulnerability affects the core authentication and connection parameters of the FTP interface, making it particularly dangerous as it could enable attackers to gain access to legitimate user sessions or manipulate the application's connection behavior to target other systems within the network.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for the initial access phase of cyber operations through malicious web content. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing proper input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly those handling user-supplied parameters for network connectivity configuration. Organizations using phpWebFTP should immediately upgrade to patched versions or implement temporary mitigations including parameter validation, HTML escaping, and input sanitization measures. The vulnerability also highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of web interfaces, particularly those that handle network configuration parameters, as these components often receive less scrutiny during security assessments. Given the age of this vulnerability, it serves as a reminder of the persistent nature of XSS flaws in web applications and the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in modern systems.