CVE-2006-4967 in Nextage Shopping Cart
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in NextAge Cart allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via (1) the CatId parameter in a product category action in index.php or (2) the SearchWd parameter in an index search action in index.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-4967 represents a critical security flaw in the NextAge Cart e-commerce platform that exposes users to cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability falls under the category of input validation failures and specifically manifests through improper sanitization of user-supplied parameters within the web application's request handling mechanism. The affected application processes user inputs through two distinct pathways, creating multiple attack vectors that adversaries can exploit to inject malicious code into the application's response.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the index.php file where two specific parameters fail to properly validate or sanitize incoming data. The CatId parameter in product category actions and the SearchWd parameter in search functionality both accept user input without adequate filtering or encoding mechanisms. When these parameters are processed by the application, the raw input is directly incorporated into the HTML response without proper context-aware encoding, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the victim's browser context. This flaw directly corresponds to CWE-79 which defines cross-site scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or encoding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking. Attackers can leverage these XSS flaws to perform a wide range of malicious activities including but not limited to cookie theft, session fixation, defacement of the e-commerce site, and redirection to malicious content. The attack surface is particularly concerning as it affects core functionality of the shopping cart system, potentially compromising customer data, order information, and sensitive transaction details. The vulnerability affects users across multiple browsers and platforms since the flaw exists at the application layer rather than in client-side components, making it particularly dangerous for widespread exploitation.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which describes social engineering tactics involving the delivery of malicious content through web applications. The attack requires minimal privileges and can be executed through simple URL manipulation, making it accessible to even less sophisticated threat actors. The exploitation process typically involves crafting malicious URLs with encoded script payloads that, when visited by unsuspecting users, execute the attacker's code within the user's browser session. The vulnerability's persistence is enhanced by the fact that it affects commonly used search and category navigation functions, increasing the likelihood of successful exploitation during normal user interactions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The primary remediation involves sanitizing all user inputs through proper encoding before incorporating them into HTML responses, particularly using context-appropriate encoding such as HTML entity encoding for HTML contexts. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against script execution. The application should also employ parameter validation to ensure that only expected data types and formats are accepted for the CatId and SearchWd parameters. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the application. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns that could indicate XSS attack attempts, though this should be viewed as supplementary protection rather than a primary defense mechanism.