CVE-2006-3385 in News
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in divers.php in Vincent Leclercq News 5.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) id and (2) disabled parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-3385 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Vincent Leclercq News 5.2 web application, specifically affecting the divers.php script. This issue falls under the category of CWE-79, which describes improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a fundamental web application security weakness that has persisted across numerous systems throughout the years. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input parameters, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of a victim's browser session.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through two distinct parameter vectors within the divers.php script, namely the id and disabled parameters. Attackers can manipulate these parameters to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML content that gets executed when other users view the affected page. This type of injection allows for various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, redirection to malicious sites, and potential data exfiltration. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where user input is directly incorporated into web responses without adequate sanitization or encoding mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can be leveraged to compromise user sessions and potentially escalate to more severe attacks within the application's security boundaries. When a victim accesses a page containing malicious content injected through the vulnerable parameters, their browser executes the embedded scripts, which can then access cookies, local storage, or other sensitive information within the user's browsing context. This creates a significant risk for users who may be authenticated to the application, as the malicious scripts can perform actions on their behalf with their privileges. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects core application functionality that users interact with regularly, amplifying the potential attack surface.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied input parameters before they are processed or rendered in web responses, which aligns with the principle of defense in depth as recommended by security frameworks. Implementing proper parameter validation, using secure coding practices that encode output based on the context where it will be displayed, and employing web application firewalls can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Additionally, regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the entire application codebase, as this type of flaw often indicates broader input handling issues that may exist elsewhere in the system. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of keeping web applications updated and patched, as many of these issues can be resolved through proper security maintenance practices.