CVE-2006-2124 in Sunshop Shopping Cart
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in SunShop 3.5 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) prevaction, (2) previd, (3) prevstart, (4) itemid, (5) id, and (6) action parameters in index.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/01/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-2124 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting SunShop 3.5 and earlier versions, demonstrating a fundamental weakness in input validation and output sanitization within web applications. This vulnerability resides in the index.php script and affects multiple parameter inputs including prevaction, previd, prevstart, itemid, id, and action, making it particularly dangerous as attackers can exploit any of these six vectors to execute malicious code. The flaw enables remote attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content, which can be executed in the context of victims' browsers when they access affected pages. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79, which describes Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without proper validation or encoding, creating a persistent threat vector that can be leveraged across various application functionalities.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of HTTP request parameters that are not adequately sanitized before being processed and displayed by the web application. When SunShop processes these parameters without proper input validation or output encoding, malicious payloads can be stored in the application's database or executed immediately upon page rendering. Attackers can craft specially formatted URLs containing script tags or other malicious code within these parameter values, which are then executed in the victim's browser when they navigate to the affected pages. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects core navigation and item identification parameters, meaning that any user interaction with the shopping cart or product browsing functionality could potentially trigger the XSS attack. This creates a broad attack surface where even legitimate users could inadvertently trigger malicious scripts through normal application usage patterns.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it creates persistent security risks that can be exploited for various malicious purposes including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to steal user sessions, modify shopping cart contents, or redirect users to phishing sites that appear legitimate. The vulnerability also creates potential for privilege escalation if the application does not properly validate user permissions or if the injected scripts can manipulate administrative functions. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability provides a reliable method for establishing persistent access to users' sessions, potentially allowing for long-term surveillance or data manipulation. The impact is particularly severe given that SunShop is a commerce platform where users have access to sensitive financial and personal information, making the potential for data breach and financial fraud significant.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-2124 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application. The primary defense involves sanitizing all user-supplied input parameters before they are processed or displayed, using proper HTML entity encoding for any data that will be rendered in web pages. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. The most effective long-term solution requires upgrading to a supported version of SunShop that includes proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should also implement web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious parameter values, though this should not be considered a substitute for proper application-level security measures. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications within the organization's infrastructure. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of adhering to security best practices such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which emphasize the need for secure coding practices and regular security assessments.