CVE-2007-1905 in QuizShock
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in auth.php in Pineapple Technologies QuizShock 1.6.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via encoded special characters in the forward_to parameter, as demonstrated using "<"<".
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2025
The CVE-2007-1905 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in Pineapple Technologies QuizShock version 1.6.1 and earlier implementations. This vulnerability exists within the authentication script auth.php and demonstrates a classic input validation weakness that enables malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected user sessions. The vulnerability specifically targets the forward_to parameter which is used to redirect users after authentication processes. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting encoded special characters including the sequence "<"<" which translates to less than, double quote, and less than symbols in HTML entities, effectively bypassing basic input sanitization measures.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as weaknesses in web applications where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or encoding. This particular implementation flaw demonstrates how insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input parameters can create persistent security risks within web authentication systems. The forward_to parameter serves as the attack vector because it likely contains redirection logic that does not properly encode or validate the input before processing, allowing malicious payloads to be executed when the application attempts to redirect users to the specified location.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to perform session hijacking, defacement of web applications, and data theft operations. When users are redirected through the vulnerable authentication flow, any malicious script injected into the forward_to parameter executes within the user's browser context, potentially stealing session cookies, credentials, or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The attack requires minimal sophistication as demonstrated by the simple payload "<"<" which shows that even basic encoding bypass techniques can successfully exploit this vulnerability. This makes the flaw particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by attackers with limited technical expertise.
Security practitioners should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures to prevent this vulnerability from being exploited. The recommended mitigations include implementing strict parameter validation for the forward_to field, employing proper HTML entity encoding for all user-supplied input before processing, and utilizing secure redirection mechanisms that validate target URLs against a whitelist of approved domains. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies and regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in legacy web applications. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and adheres to ATT&CK technique T1059 which covers the use of scripting languages for exploitation. Additionally, this vulnerability demonstrates the necessity of proper parameter validation and input sanitization as outlined in OWASP Top Ten categories and should be addressed through comprehensive security awareness training for development teams to prevent similar issues in future implementations.