CVE-2006-6587 in Open For Business Project
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the forum implementation in the ecommerce component in the Apache Open For Business Project (OFBiz) allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML by posting a message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/09/2017
The CVE-2006-6587 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Apache Open For Business Project's ecommerce component, specifically affecting the forum implementation. This vulnerability resides in the web application's input validation mechanisms and allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers. The flaw occurs when users post messages to the forum system, where the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it on web pages. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-site Scripting flaws in web applications. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient output encoding and input validation within the forum's message handling functionality.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability enables attackers to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code into forum posts that are then executed by other users who view these posts. When a victim loads a page containing the malicious content, the injected script executes in their browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious websites. The vulnerability is classified as a reflected XSS attack since the malicious content is immediately reflected back to users through the forum's display mechanism without being stored on the server. This particular implementation flaw demonstrates a failure in the application's security design principles, specifically the lack of proper input sanitization and output encoding controls that are fundamental to preventing XSS attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks within the OFBiz ecosystem. Attackers could potentially exploit this flaw to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized transactions, or manipulate forum content to spread additional malware. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of user data within the ecommerce platform, potentially compromising customer information and business operations. Given that OFBiz is an enterprise-level business application, this vulnerability could also impact business continuity and regulatory compliance, particularly in environments where data protection standards such as those outlined in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) are required. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not need physical access to the system or network to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in publicly accessible web applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-6587 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures. Organizations should ensure that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages, utilizing techniques such as HTML entity encoding and proper content type validation. The implementation of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XSS detection capabilities can provide additional protection layers. Security patches and updates should be applied immediately to address the vulnerability, as the original flaw existed in the forum's message handling code without proper security controls. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing (DAST) and static application security testing (SAST) should be implemented to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the OFBiz platform. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to the ATT&CK framework's methodology for identifying and mitigating web application security weaknesses, particularly those related to user input handling and output rendering in enterprise applications.