CVE-2006-2970 in tinyMuw
Summary
by MITRE
videoPage.php in L0j1k tinyMuw 0.1.0 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a certain id parameter, probably with an invalid value, which reveals the path in an error message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/28/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-2970 affects the videoPage.php script within the L0j1k tinyMuw 0.1.0 web application, representing a classic information disclosure flaw that exposes system paths through error handling mechanisms. This vulnerability resides in the parameter validation process where the id parameter fails to properly sanitize user input, allowing malicious actors to inject malformed values that trigger error responses containing sensitive directory paths. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and error handling practices that do not properly filter or escape user-supplied data before processing, creating an attack surface where system internals become visible to remote adversaries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a clear lack of proper error message sanitization and input validation controls. When an invalid id parameter is submitted to the videoPage.php script, the application fails to handle the malformed input gracefully, instead generating an error message that inadvertently reveals the absolute file path where the application resides on the server. This type of information disclosure vulnerability falls under the CWE-200 category of "Information Exposure" and represents a fundamental security misconfiguration that violates the principle of least privilege and secure error handling. The vulnerability enables attackers to gather reconnaissance information that could be used for subsequent exploitation attempts, including directory traversal attacks or other path-based exploits.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to the security posture of affected systems as it provides attackers with direct access to server path information that can be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks. The disclosed paths may reveal the application's installation directory structure, which can aid in identifying potential file inclusion vulnerabilities, directory traversal opportunities, or other system-level weaknesses. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1212 "Exploitation for Credential Access" as the information disclosure can serve as a precursor to credential harvesting or privilege escalation attacks. The exposure of system paths can also facilitate bypassing of security controls such as web application firewalls or intrusion detection systems that rely on path-based detection mechanisms.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of proper input validation and error handling procedures across all user-facing parameters. Organizations should ensure that all input parameters undergo rigorous sanitization before being processed by the application, with error messages being generic and not revealing system internals. The fix should involve implementing proper parameter validation that rejects malformed inputs before they can trigger error conditions, combined with centralized error handling that suppresses system-specific information in error responses. Additionally, the application should be configured to log only generic error information while maintaining detailed logs internally for debugging purposes. This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in OWASP Top Ten and ISO/IEC 27001 security standards, emphasizing that proper input validation and error handling are fundamental requirements for maintaining application security.