CVE-2006-5942 in Inventory Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in inventory/display/display_results.asp in Website Designs For Less Inventory Manager allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the category parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5942 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Website Designs For Less Inventory Manager application. This security weakness resides in the inventory/display/display_results.asp component where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to web browsers. The specific vector of attack occurs through the category parameter which accepts unvalidated input from remote attackers, enabling them to inject malicious scripts that execute within the context of other users' browsers.
This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored or reflected XSS attack depending on how the malicious input is processed and stored within the application's database. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and output encoding practices that are fundamental to preventing XSS attacks according to industry security standards. The attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in victims' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious websites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection as it can be exploited to compromise user sessions and potentially escalate privileges within the inventory management system. Attackers could craft malicious category parameters that, when viewed by other users, would execute malicious code in their browsers. This could result in unauthorized access to inventory data, modification of product information, or even complete system compromise if the application lacks proper access controls. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in an inventory management context where sensitive business data is handled and where attackers might target system administrators or regular users with elevated privileges.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The category parameter must be sanitized to remove or escape potentially dangerous characters before being processed or stored. This aligns with the OWASP Top Ten security practices and follows the principle of least privilege in application design. Additionally, the application should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and prevent unauthorized code injection. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the application. The fix should also involve proper error handling and input validation at multiple layers of the application architecture to ensure that malicious input cannot be processed or rendered without proper sanitization.