CVE-2006-3519 in The Banner Engine
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in The Banner Engine (tbe) 4.0 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) text parameter in a search action to (a) top.php, and the (2) adminpass or (3) adminlogin parameter to (b) signup.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/18/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-3519 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within The Banner Engine version 4.0, a web application designed for managing banner advertisements. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The flaw manifests in two distinct attack vectors within the application's user interface and administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the application's PHP scripts. Specifically, the search functionality in top.php fails to properly escape or filter user-supplied input from the text parameter, allowing malicious payloads to be executed when the search results are rendered. Additionally, the signup.php script contains two separate vulnerable parameters adminpass and adminlogin that do not adequately sanitize user input before processing or displaying the data. These flaws occur because the application does not implement proper context-aware output encoding or input validation mechanisms that would prevent malicious script execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of users' browsers. Attackers can leverage these vulnerabilities to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, redirect victims to malicious websites, or even establish persistent backdoors within the application. The vulnerability affects both regular users and administrators, making it particularly dangerous as it could potentially allow privilege escalation or complete system compromise. The attack surface is broad since the vulnerability exists in core application functionality such as search operations and user registration processes that are frequently accessed.
Security practitioners should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigations include implementing proper parameter validation using allowlists, applying context-aware output encoding for all dynamic content, and implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution. Additionally, the application should be updated to a newer version of The Banner Engine that addresses these security flaws, as the vendor has likely released patches for this vulnerability. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments of their web applications to identify similar input validation flaws, as this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies against common web application attacks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically focusing on web shell execution and user session hijacking techniques that attackers can employ through XSS exploitation.