CVE-2006-3570 in Drupal
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the webform module in Drupal 4.6 before July 8, 2006 and 4.7 before July 8, 2006 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/31/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-3570 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Drupal's webform module that affected versions 4.6 and 4.7 prior to the July 8, 2006 security release. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which specifically addresses the injection of malicious scripts into web applications that are intended to be trusted by users. The webform module in Drupal served as a critical component for creating and processing online forms, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit user interactions with web applications. The vulnerability's impact was particularly severe because it allowed remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or other malicious activities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stemmed from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the webform module's handling of user-submitted data. Attackers could exploit this weakness through unspecified vectors that likely involved manipulating form fields or parameters that were not properly escaped or filtered before being rendered back to users. The vulnerability's persistence across both Drupal 4.6 and 4.7 versions indicates a fundamental flaw in the module's security architecture that had not been adequately addressed in the codebase. This type of vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper data sanitization and the principle of least privilege in web application development, where all user inputs should be treated as potentially malicious and properly validated before processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple script injection, as it created a potential pathway for attackers to compromise user sessions and steal sensitive information. When users interacted with compromised forms, their browsers would execute the injected malicious code, which could include cookies theft, redirection to malicious sites, or modification of page content. The vulnerability's presence in widely used Drupal versions meant that numerous websites could be compromised simultaneously, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on the platform for content management and user interaction. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Scripting and T1531 for Account Access Removal, as it could enable attackers to establish persistent access through session manipulation and credential theft.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability needed to implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of Drupal 4.6 and 4.7, applying the July 8, 2006 security releases, and implementing additional security measures such as input validation at the application level. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of regular security updates and the need for organizations to maintain current knowledge of security patches for their web applications. Security practitioners should have implemented web application firewalls and input sanitization measures as compensating controls while awaiting official patches. The incident underscored the critical nature of the OWASP Top Ten vulnerabilities, specifically the importance of addressing injection flaws and the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the software development lifecycle. Organizations should have conducted thorough security assessments of their web applications and implemented proper monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.