CVE-2006-2129 in Pro Publish
Summary
by MITRE
Direct static code injection vulnerability in Pro Publish 2.0 allows rmeote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary PHP code by editing certain settings, which are stored in set_inc.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-2129 represents a critical direct static code injection flaw within Pro Publish 2.0 content management system. This security weakness stems from improper input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to adequately filter user-supplied data before it is processed and stored within the application's configuration files. The vulnerability specifically affects authenticated administrators who possess the necessary privileges to modify system settings, creating a dangerous attack vector that can be exploited to gain unauthorized code execution capabilities.
The technical flaw manifests when administrators edit certain system settings through the web interface, as the application directly incorporates user-provided input into the set_inc.php configuration file without proper sanitization or encoding. This direct insertion of unvalidated data creates an environment where maliciously crafted input can be interpreted as executable PHP code rather than mere configuration values. The vulnerability falls under CWE-94, which describes "Improper Control of Generation of Code" and specifically relates to situations where dynamic code generation occurs without proper input validation, making it susceptible to code injection attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows attackers with administrative access to execute arbitrary PHP code on the target server. This capability enables full system compromise, including but not limited to data exfiltration, deployment of backdoors, modification of sensitive files, and establishment of persistent access points. The attack requires only authenticated administrative privileges, which significantly reduces the attack surface compared to vulnerabilities requiring unauthenticated access. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where administrative credentials might be compromised through social engineering, credential theft, or other means.
The exploitation process involves an attacker with administrative access crafting malicious input that gets written to the set_inc.php file, which is then executed by the PHP interpreter when the application processes the configuration. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers "Command and Scripting Interpreter: Python," though in this case the interpreter is PHP rather than Python. The vulnerability demonstrates poor secure coding practices and highlights the critical importance of input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly when dealing with configuration data that will be executed as code.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms that prevent malicious code from being stored in configuration files. The application should employ strict parameter validation, utilize prepared statements where applicable, and implement proper output encoding when configuration values are written to files. Additionally, administrative privileges should be carefully managed through principle of least privilege, and all administrative sessions should be protected with strong authentication mechanisms including multi-factor authentication. Regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the application, and the system should be updated to versions that address this specific vulnerability. Organizations should also implement monitoring and logging of administrative activities to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain regular backups to facilitate recovery from successful attacks.