CVE-2006-3240 in dotProject
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in classes/ui.class.php in dotProject 2.0.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the login parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-3240 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the dotProject 2.0.3 web application framework. This security weakness resides in the classes/ui.class.php file and specifically affects the handling of the login parameter, creating an avenue for remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly encode or escape user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages.
This XSS vulnerability operates under CWE-79 which classifies it as a weakness where web applications fail to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into dynamic content. The flaw allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that can execute in the victim's browser when they access pages containing the compromised content. The attack vector specifically targets the login parameter, suggesting that the vulnerability may be exploited during authentication processes or when user credentials are processed and displayed within the application interface. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable session hijacking, credential theft, and the potential for more sophisticated attacks such as phishing or data exfiltration.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations using dotProject 2.0.3 or earlier versions, as it creates persistent security risks that can compromise user sessions and potentially lead to unauthorized access to sensitive project data. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that, when visited by authenticated users, execute code in their browsers and may redirect them to malicious sites or steal session cookies. The vulnerability affects the entire user base of the application since any user interaction with compromised pages could trigger the malicious script execution. This represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture where input validation mechanisms are inadequate to prevent malicious code injection.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. Organizations should immediately upgrade to dotProject versions that contain patches for this vulnerability, as the original 2.0.3 release and earlier versions lack proper input sanitization. The recommended approach involves implementing comprehensive output encoding for all user-supplied data, particularly parameters like login, and following secure coding practices that prevent XSS vulnerabilities at the source. Security controls should include input validation that rejects suspicious characters and patterns, output encoding that converts special characters to their HTML entities, and the implementation of Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 which covers the use of scripting languages for execution and demonstrates how improper input handling can enable attacker-controlled code execution within victim environments. Organizations should also implement regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications and ensure that proper input validation and output encoding practices are consistently applied throughout their software development lifecycle.