CVE-2006-6640 in SiteCatalyst
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Omniture SiteCatalyst allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) ss parameter in (a) search.asp and the (2) company and (3) username fields on (b) the web login page. NOTE: some details were obtained from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-6640 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Omniture SiteCatalyst, a web analytics platform widely used for tracking and analyzing website traffic. This vulnerability resides in the input validation mechanisms of the application's web interface, specifically affecting the search functionality and authentication pages. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of authenticated users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized actions within the application. The vulnerability impacts multiple components of the SiteCatalyst platform, creating a significant attack surface that could compromise the security of web analytics data and user sessions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of user input parameters within the web application. The ss parameter in search.asp fails to properly validate or escape special characters, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute when the search results are rendered. Additionally, the company and username fields on the web login page suffer from the same input validation shortcomings, enabling attackers to inject malicious content during the authentication process. These flaws align with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in web applications. The vulnerability exists because the application does not properly filter or encode user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through crafted input sequences.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can be exploited to compromise user sessions and access sensitive analytics data. Attackers could potentially steal session cookies from authenticated users, gaining unauthorized access to SiteCatalyst accounts and their associated web analytics information. The vulnerability affects both the search functionality and login pages, meaning that attackers could exploit it during either browsing or authentication activities. This creates a particularly dangerous scenario where malicious actors could compromise user credentials during login or manipulate search results to redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability's presence in the authentication interface also means that attackers could potentially create persistent malicious content that would be executed whenever legitimate users access the application.
Organizations utilizing Omniture SiteCatalyst should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied parameters. The most effective immediate solution involves implementing proper parameter sanitization across all input fields, particularly those used in search functionality and authentication processes. Security teams should also consider implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts within the application context. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-79 emphasizes the need for comprehensive input validation across all application components, including search parameters and form fields. Organizations should also review their application's session management mechanisms to prevent session hijacking attacks that could result from this vulnerability. Additionally, regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar input validation flaws that may exist in other application components, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers phishing and social engineering attacks that often exploit such vulnerabilities. The remediation approach should include both immediate code fixes to sanitize input parameters and longer-term security architecture improvements to prevent similar issues from reoccurring in future application development cycles.