CVE-2006-3521 in SiteForge Collaborative Development Platform
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in index/siteforge-bugs-action/proj.siteforge in SiteForge Collaborative Development Platform 1.0.4 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) _status, (2) _extra1, (3) _extra2, or (4) _extra3 parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2017
The CVE-2006-3521 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the SiteForge Collaborative Development Platform version 1.0.4 and earlier. This vulnerability resides within the index/siteforge-bugs-action/proj.siteforge component of the platform, which serves as a core interface for managing software development projects and bug tracking functionalities. The vulnerability affects the platform's handling of user-supplied input parameters, specifically targeting four distinct parameter fields that are commonly used for status reporting and additional project metadata. These parameters include _status, _extra1, _extra2, and _extra3, which are typically employed by developers and project managers to update project states and add supplementary information to bug reports and development tasks.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the SiteForge platform's web application layer. When users submit data through these specific parameters, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before rendering it back to users in the web interface. This allows malicious actors to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code directly into the application's response, bypassing the platform's security controls and establishing a persistent XSS vector. The vulnerability is classified as a classic stored XSS attack since the malicious code is stored within the application's database and executed whenever other users view the affected pages. This flaw directly maps to CWE-79, which defines the weakness of Cross-site Scripting in software applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or unauthorized access. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive project information, manipulate project data, and potentially escalate privileges within the development environment. The implications are particularly severe for collaborative development platforms where multiple team members share sensitive code repositories, bug tracking information, and project documentation. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could execute malicious scripts that capture user credentials, redirect victims to phishing sites, or even modify project timelines and bug assignments. The vulnerability affects the platform's integrity, confidentiality, and availability, making it a critical security concern for organizations relying on SiteForge for their collaborative development workflows.
Security practitioners should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. The primary remediation involves implementing strict input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in status and metadata fields. This includes sanitizing all input through proper HTML entity encoding and implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent script execution. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads targeting these specific parameters. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to the principle of least privilege in web application development. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as T1059.007 for Scripting and T1566.001 for Phishing, as attackers can leverage the XSS vector to establish persistent access and conduct further reconnaissance within the development environment. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the development platform and ensure comprehensive protection against similar attack vectors.