CVE-2007-2433 in Ariadne
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in index.php in Ariadne 2.4.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the ARLogin parameter. 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 • 08/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-2433 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Ariadne content management system version 2.4.1. This security weakness specifically targets the index.php script and manifests through improper input validation of the ARLogin parameter, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected user sessions. The vulnerability falls under the broader category of injection attacks and directly violates security principles governing input sanitization and output encoding in web applications.
The technical exploitation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts a malicious payload containing script code and injects it through the ARLogin parameter in the index.php script. When the vulnerable application processes this parameter without adequate sanitization or encoding, the malicious code gets executed in the browser of unsuspecting users who subsequently access the affected page. This type of vulnerability enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of web pages, and redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability is classified as a reflected XSS attack since the malicious script is reflected back to the user through the vulnerable parameter without being stored on the server.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to compromise user sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. In a production environment, this flaw could allow adversaries to steal user authentication tokens, modify content displayed to legitimate users, or redirect them to phishing sites designed to capture credentials. The vulnerability particularly affects web applications that rely on user authentication mechanisms, as successful exploitation could lead to complete compromise of user accounts and potential privilege escalation within the application's access control model. This weakness aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting as a critical input validation vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-2433 should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The primary defense involves sanitizing all user-supplied input, particularly parameters like ARLogin, through proper escaping techniques before processing or displaying them in web responses. Implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against script execution, while proper input validation frameworks should be employed to reject or sanitize malicious payloads. Organizations should also consider implementing Web Application Firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests containing potential XSS payloads. The remediation process should include thorough code review and testing to ensure that all input parameters are properly validated and that output encoding is consistently applied to prevent the execution of malicious scripts in browser contexts, aligning with security best practices established in the OWASP Top Ten and MITRE ATT&CK framework for web application attacks.