CVE-2007-0807 in flashChat
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in info.php in flashChat 4.7.8 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a channel title (aka room name) that is not properly handled by the "who s online" feature.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0807 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the flashChat 4.7.8 web application, specifically affecting the info.php script. This issue arises from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly handle user-supplied data within the channel title or room name parameters. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it exists within the "who s online" feature, which serves as a critical component for user interaction and session management within the chat environment. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious channel names containing embedded script code that gets executed when other users view the online user list, thereby enabling unauthorized code execution within victim browsers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of channel titles that are subsequently displayed in the who s online section without proper HTML escaping or sanitization. When a malicious user creates a channel with specially crafted title content containing javascript or html tags, these elements are rendered unfiltered in the web interface, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads that can execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper output encoding mechanisms when displaying user-generated content in web contexts, creating a direct path for malicious script execution.
This XSS vulnerability carries significant operational impact within the flashChat environment, as it can be leveraged to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious websites. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no special privileges or authentication from the attacker, making it accessible to anyone with access to the chat system. The "who s online" feature serves as a natural attack surface since it continuously displays user information to all connected participants, amplifying the potential impact of a successful XSS payload execution across multiple users simultaneously.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for social engineering and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage. The vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation practices and highlights the critical importance of implementing proper security measures such as output encoding, content security policies, and input sanitization. Organizations using affected versions of flashChat should immediately implement mitigations including proper HTML escaping for all user-generated content, implementing strict input validation, and considering the deployment of web application firewalls to detect and prevent such attacks. The vulnerability also underscores the necessity of regular security assessments and code reviews to identify similar issues in legacy web applications that may not have been designed with modern security best practices in mind.