CVE-2006-2772 in hogstorp guestbook
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in add.asp in Hogstorps hogstorp guestbook 2.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) name, (2) email, and (3) headline parameters. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/10/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-2772 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Hogstorps hogstorp guestbook 2.0 web application. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of insecure input handling and represents a significant security risk to web applications that process user-supplied data without proper sanitization. The specific implementation of this vulnerability affects the add.asp script which serves as the entry point for guestbook submissions, making it a critical component in the attack surface of the application.
The technical flaw manifests through three distinct parameter injection points within the guestbook submission process. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by submitting malicious scripts or HTML content through the name, email, and headline fields of the guestbook entry form. These parameters are processed by the add.asp script without adequate input validation or output encoding, allowing malicious payloads to be stored in the application's database and subsequently executed in the context of other users' browsers. This unfiltered data processing creates a persistent XSS vulnerability where the malicious code becomes part of the legitimate application content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the browser context of authenticated and unauthenticated users. This capability allows for session hijacking, credential theft, redirection to malicious sites, and potential privilege escalation within the application's context. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects core functionality parameters that are typically expected to contain benign user information, making it difficult for users to identify malicious content. The persistence of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious scripts will continue to execute whenever affected pages are loaded, potentially affecting all users of the guestbook application.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for initial access through malicious web content and T1071 for application layer protocol usage. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between users and the web application, making it particularly effective for social engineering attacks. The lack of input validation and output encoding represents a fundamental security misconfiguration that violates basic web application security principles. Organizations should implement proper input sanitization, output encoding, and content security policies to prevent such vulnerabilities from being exploited. Additionally, regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues in legacy web applications that may not have been designed with modern security practices in mind. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of applying defense-in-depth strategies and maintaining up-to-date security practices even for older web applications that continue to be in use.