CVE-2007-1355 in Tomcat
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the appdev/sample/web/hello.jsp example application in Tomcat 4.0.0 through 4.0.6, 4.1.0 through 4.1.36, 5.0.0 through 5.0.30, 5.5.0 through 5.5.23, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.10 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the test parameter and unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-1355 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting multiple versions of the Apache Tomcat web application server. This issue resides within the sample application located at appdev/sample/web/hello.jsp, which serves as a demonstration component rather than core functionality. The vulnerability affects Tomcat versions spanning from 4.0.0 through 4.0.6, 4.1.0 through 4.1.36, 5.0.0 through 5.0.30, 5.5.0 through 5.5.23, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.10, indicating a broad impact across several major release lines. The flaw specifically allows remote attackers to inject malicious web script or HTML content through the test parameter, which represents a common input vector for XSS attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the sample application's parameter handling mechanism. When the test parameter is processed without proper sanitization, the application fails to escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code by web browsers. This allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute in the context of other users' browsers who access the vulnerable page. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that multiple code paths within the application may be susceptible to similar injection attacks, potentially extending beyond just the test parameter. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without adequate validation or encoding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement. Attackers could leverage this weakness to establish persistent sessions, steal user credentials, manipulate application data, or redirect users to malicious websites. The presence of this vulnerability in sample applications within the Tomcat distribution creates a significant risk because these examples are often used for testing and development purposes, making them accessible to both legitimate users and malicious actors. Organizations running affected versions of Tomcat may inadvertently expose their systems to attack if these sample applications are accessible to external users or if administrators fail to properly configure security boundaries. The vulnerability's existence in multiple versions suggests that it was not adequately addressed through the patching process, leaving users exposed across several release cycles.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate action from system administrators to upgrade to patched versions of Apache Tomcat where the vulnerability has been resolved. Organizations should also implement proper input validation and output encoding practices throughout their web applications, ensuring that all user-supplied data is sanitized before being processed or displayed. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Regular security audits of web applications and their components should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities. Additionally, organizations should disable or remove sample applications from production environments to minimize attack surface, as these examples often contain security flaws that may not be immediately obvious. This vulnerability exemplifies the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing comprehensive security controls across all application components, including demonstration and testing environments that may be inadvertently exposed to unauthorized users.