CVE-2006-2999 in QuickLinks
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in search.php in OkScripts QuickLinks 1.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the q parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/29/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-2999 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the OkScripts QuickLinks 1.1 web application. This security weakness specifically affects the search.php script which processes user input through the q parameter, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute unauthorized code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly escape or filter user-supplied data before it is rendered back to end users.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when the application receives a request containing malicious content in the q parameter of the search.php script. Without proper sanitization, the application directly incorporates this unsanitized input into the web page response, allowing attackers to inject HTML tags or JavaScript code. When other users browse the affected page or click on links containing the malicious payload, their browsers execute the injected code, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious websites. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a well-documented and widely recognized weakness in web application security.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement. Attackers can leverage this weakness to establish persistent access to user sessions, harvest sensitive information from authenticated users, or manipulate the application's behavior to redirect users to phishing sites. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require any local system access or physical presence, making it particularly dangerous for web applications serving a wide user base. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which focuses on use of web shell and T1059 which covers command and scripting interpreter, as attackers can use the XSS payload to establish command execution capabilities or deploy additional malicious tools.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-2999 must address both the immediate vulnerability and broader security posture of the affected application. The primary remediation involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms that sanitize all user-supplied data before it is processed or displayed. This includes employing context-specific escaping techniques such as HTML entity encoding for web page content, JavaScript escaping for dynamic script injection, and proper parameter validation to reject malicious input patterns. Organizations should also implement a comprehensive content security policy to prevent unauthorized script execution, deploy web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious traffic patterns, and establish secure coding practices that emphasize input sanitization and output encoding as fundamental security controls. The remediation process should include thorough code review to identify similar vulnerabilities across other application components and implementation of automated security testing during the development lifecycle to prevent future occurrences of this class of vulnerability.