CVE-2006-2088 in Open Bulletin Board
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Devsyn Open Bulletin Board (OpenBB) 1.0.6 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via (1) the FID parameter in board.php and (2) the TID parameter in read.php. NOTE: the SQL injection issues are already covered by CVE-2005-1612 (read.php) and CVE-2005-2566 (board.php).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/09/2017
The CVE-2006-2088 vulnerability affects Devsyn Open Bulletin Board version 1.0.6, a web-based discussion platform that allows users to create and manage online forums. This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that exposes the system to cross-site scripting attacks, potentially compromising user sessions and enabling attackers to execute malicious code within the context of the victim's browser. The vulnerability specifically targets two distinct parameters within the application's URL structure, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through different entry points within the same vulnerable application.
The technical flaw manifests in two primary locations within the OpenBB application's codebase. The first vulnerability occurs in board.php where the FID parameter is not properly sanitized or validated before being processed and displayed to users. The second vulnerability exists in read.php where the TID parameter suffers from identical input validation issues. Both flaws stem from inadequate output encoding and input sanitization practices, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML content that gets executed when other users view the affected pages. This represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability where malicious input is immediately reflected back to the user without proper sanitization or encoding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement. Attackers can leverage these XSS flaws to hijack user sessions, steal authentication cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, or inject persistent scripts that can harvest sensitive information from users. The vulnerability affects all users of the OpenBB platform who interact with bulletin board content, potentially compromising the entire user base. Given that bulletin boards typically contain sensitive discussions and personal information, the exploitation of these flaws could lead to significant privacy breaches and unauthorized access to confidential communications. The vulnerability also undermines the trust users place in the platform, potentially causing reputational damage to organizations using the software.
Security practitioners should implement multiple layers of defense to address this vulnerability. The primary mitigation involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding techniques, ensuring that all user-supplied data is sanitized before being processed or displayed. This includes implementing strict parameter validation for both FID and TID parameters, applying HTML entity encoding to all dynamic content, and utilizing Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, while regular security auditing of application code should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and input validation that forms the foundation of secure application development practices. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving client-side exploitation and credential access through session hijacking, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive web application security measures.