CVE-2006-3563 in Winged Gallery
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in gallery/thumb.php in Winged Gallery 1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the image parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/20/2017
The CVE-2006-3563 vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw in the Winged Gallery 1.0 web application, specifically within the gallery/thumb.php component. This vulnerability exposes the application to malicious injection attacks that can compromise user sessions and execute unauthorized code in the context of victim browsers. The vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user input passed through the image parameter, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that persist in the application's output.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the improper handling of the image parameter in the thumb.php script, which serves as a thumbnail generation endpoint. When users navigate to gallery/thumb.php with a crafted image parameter containing malicious script code, the application processes this input without adequate validation or encoding. This creates an environment where attacker-controlled content can be rendered as part of the web page, enabling the execution of arbitrary JavaScript code in the victim's browser context. The vulnerability specifically targets the application's failure to implement proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms, making it susceptible to persistent XSS attacks.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the browsers of unsuspecting users who visit affected pages. Attackers can leverage this flaw to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, redirect victims to malicious websites, or deface the gallery content. The vulnerability particularly affects web applications that rely on user-generated content or dynamic image handling, as it enables attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through crafted input parameters. The persistent nature of XSS vulnerabilities means that once exploited, attackers can maintain access to user sessions and continue to exploit the vulnerability across multiple user interactions.
Security professionals should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigations include implementing strict parameter validation for all user-supplied input, particularly in dynamic content generation endpoints like gallery/thumb.php. Applications should employ proper HTML encoding when rendering user-provided content, ensuring that special characters are properly escaped to prevent script execution. Additionally, implementing content security policies and using secure coding practices such as input sanitization and parameterized queries can significantly reduce the attack surface. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a common vector for attackers following MITRE ATT&CK techniques related to client-side exploitation and credential theft through web-based attacks. Organizations should conduct regular security assessments and maintain up-to-date vulnerability management processes to prevent exploitation of similar flaws in web applications.