CVE-2006-7058 in Sphider
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Sphider before 1.3.1c allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the catid parameter to (1) templates/standard/search_form.html and (2) templates/dark/search_form.html. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/20/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-7058 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting the Sphider search engine software prior to version 1.3.1c. This vulnerability resides within the web application's handling of user input parameters, specifically the catid parameter that is processed through two distinct template files. The affected templates are located at templates/standard/search_form.html and templates/dark/search_form.html, indicating that the flaw impacts the user interface components responsible for generating search forms within the application's various visual themes. The vulnerability's classification as a persistent XSS issue means that malicious scripts can be executed in the context of other users' browsers, potentially compromising their sessions and data.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when remote attackers manipulate the catid parameter through HTTP requests sent to the vulnerable search form templates. When the application processes this parameter without proper sanitization or output encoding, it directly incorporates the malicious input into the HTML response sent to users. This creates an environment where attackers can inject arbitrary JavaScript code or HTML content that executes in the victim's browser context. The flaw demonstrates a classic input validation failure where user-supplied data is not adequately filtered before being rendered in web pages, violating fundamental web security principles. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it affects multiple template variations, suggesting a systemic code design issue rather than isolated patchable code segments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, potentially enabling attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive user information, manipulate application data, or redirect users to malicious websites. An attacker could craft a malicious URL containing harmful JavaScript that would execute whenever a victim accesses the search functionality, effectively creating a persistent attack vector. The vulnerability's presence in both standard and dark templates indicates that it affects the core search form processing logic rather than being limited to specific visual themes. This widespread impact means that any user interacting with the search functionality could become a victim, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users access the same application. The lack of verified source information regarding the vulnerability's discovery timeline and exploitation methods suggests that this issue may have remained unpatched for an extended period, increasing the risk to affected deployments.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's data flow. The primary remediation involves sanitizing all user-supplied input parameters, particularly those used in dynamic content generation, through proper encoding techniques such as HTML entity encoding before rendering. Developers should implement a whitelist-based input validation approach that only accepts expected parameter values while rejecting potentially malicious content. Additionally, the application should employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent unauthorized script execution even if input validation is bypassed. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and it maps to ATT&CK technique T1203 for "Exploitation for Client Execution" within the context of web application exploitation. Organizations should ensure that all Sphider installations are upgraded to version 1.3.1c or later, and implement regular security assessments to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other application components. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of input sanitization in web applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor parameter handling flaws can create significant security risks across entire application interfaces.