CVE-2006-5516 in WikiNi
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in actions/usersettings.php in WikiNi before 0.4.4 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) name and (2) email parameters to wakka.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/25/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5516 represents a critical security flaw in the WikiNi wiki software platform that affects versions prior to 0.4.4. This vulnerability manifests as multiple cross-site scripting vulnerabilities within the user settings functionality, specifically in the actions/usersettings.php file. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers, potentially compromising the security of the entire wiki environment and its user base.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through the improper handling of user input parameters within the wiki application's user settings interface. Attackers can exploit this weakness by manipulating the name and email parameters when submitting data to the wakka.php endpoint. These parameters are processed without adequate sanitization or validation, allowing malicious payloads to be stored and subsequently executed when other users view the affected user settings. The vulnerability specifically targets the web application's input validation mechanisms, which fail to properly filter or escape potentially dangerous characters and script tags that could be embedded within the user-provided data fields.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a range of malicious activities within the compromised wiki environment. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, deface the wiki content, or even escalate privileges within the application. The vulnerability affects the fundamental security model of the wiki platform by creating a persistent vector for malicious code injection that can compromise multiple users simultaneously. This type of vulnerability directly undermines the trust model that wiki applications rely on, as users may unknowingly execute code from compromised accounts.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which defines cross-site scripting as a weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique for code injection and privilege escalation, where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to execute unauthorized code. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic example of insufficient input validation and output encoding, which are fundamental security principles that should be implemented at every layer of web application development. Organizations using affected versions of WikiNi should immediately implement patches or updates to address this vulnerability, as the exposure window for exploitation can be extended indefinitely without proper remediation.
The remediation strategy for this vulnerability involves implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms within the WikiNi application. Developers should ensure that all user-provided parameters undergo strict validation and that any potentially dangerous characters are properly escaped or removed before processing. This includes implementing proper HTML entity encoding for output rendering and establishing robust input filtering mechanisms that reject or sanitize malicious payloads. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and security monitoring solutions to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while also conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of their web infrastructure.