CVE-2006-4917 in PT News
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in search.php in PT News 1.7.8 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the pgname parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2017
The CVE-2006-4917 vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the PT News content management system version 1.7.8, specifically affecting the search.php script. This vulnerability resides in the handling of user-supplied input through the pgname parameter, which is processed without adequate sanitization or validation mechanisms. The flaw enables remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML code directly into the application's response, creating a persistent security risk that can be exploited across multiple user sessions. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical failure in input validation and output encoding practices that are fundamental to web application security.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize or escape user input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. When the pgname parameter is submitted to search.php, the system processes this input and includes it in the response without appropriate filtering or encoding measures. This allows an attacker to craft malicious payloads that, when executed in a victim's browser, can perform unauthorized actions such as stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or executing arbitrary commands within the context of the vulnerable application. The vulnerability operates under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it creates a vector for more sophisticated attacks within the web application environment. Attackers can leverage this flaw to establish persistent access patterns, harvest sensitive information from authenticated users, or manipulate the application's functionality to serve as a stepping stone for further exploitation. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or local privileges, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible web applications. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering tactics through malicious web content delivery.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-4917 must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements to prevent similar vulnerabilities. The primary fix involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application, specifically ensuring that all user-supplied parameters including pgname are sanitized before being incorporated into web responses. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls and input validation filters to detect and block malicious payloads before they can reach the application's core logic. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers and adopting secure coding practices such as parameterized queries and proper HTML escaping will significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar input validation gaps that could lead to other XSS vulnerabilities in the application's codebase.