CVE-2006-2190 in Open Webmail
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in ow-shared.pl in OpenWebMail (OWM) 2.51 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the sessionid parameter in (1) openwebmail-send.pl, (2) openwebmail-advsearch.pl, (3) openwebmail-folder.pl, (4) openwebmail-prefs.pl, (5) openwebmail-abook.pl, (6) openwebmail-read.pl, (7) openwebmail-cal.pl, and (8) openwebmail-webdisk.pl. NOTE: the openwebmail-main.pl vector is already covered by CVE-2005-2863.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/10/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-2190 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the OpenWebMail webmail system version 2.51 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the ow-shared.pl component and specifically targets the sessionid parameter across multiple web scripts within the application. The flaw enables remote attackers to inject malicious web script or HTML code, creating a significant security risk for users interacting with the webmail interface. The vulnerability affects eight distinct scripts including openwebmail-send.pl, openwebmail-advsearch.pl, and openwebmail-folder.pl among others, demonstrating the widespread nature of the issue within the application's architecture.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the OpenWebMail system. When users interact with any of the affected scripts, the sessionid parameter is processed without proper sanitization of user-supplied input. This allows malicious actors to craft specially formatted sessionid values that contain embedded JavaScript code or HTML tags. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where user input directly influences the web page content generation process, making it particularly dangerous as it can execute within the context of the victim's browser session. This type of flaw falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, where the application fails to properly validate or escape user-provided data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it can enable sophisticated attack vectors including session hijacking, credential theft, and the delivery of malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to steal session cookies, potentially gaining unauthorized access to user accounts and their associated email contents. The widespread nature of the affected scripts means that an attacker could compromise multiple functions within the webmail system, from sending emails to accessing calendar and address book features. Additionally, the vulnerability could be leveraged for phishing attacks where malicious scripts could redirect users to fraudulent websites or harvest sensitive information from the victim's browser context. The risk is particularly elevated because OpenWebMail is a web-based application that users interact with regularly, providing multiple opportunities for exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate input validation and output encoding measures. Organizations using OpenWebMail versions 2.51 or earlier should upgrade to patched versions as soon as possible, as the vulnerability has been addressed in subsequent releases. In the interim, administrators should implement proper input sanitization by escaping special characters in all user-supplied parameters, particularly the sessionid parameter. The application should implement strict validation of session identifiers to ensure they conform to expected formats and reject any input containing potentially malicious code. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against script injection attacks. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving command and control communications through web application interfaces and session management flaws. The remediation approach should include comprehensive security testing of web applications, including input validation testing and penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the webmail system or related applications.