CVE-2007-2910 in vBulletin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Jelsoft vBulletin before 3.6.7 PL1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors, related to the vb_367_xss_fix_plugin.xml update, a related issue to CVE-2007-2909.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/03/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-2910 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Jelsoft vBulletin platform prior to version 3.6.7 PL1. This security weakness enables remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected user sessions, fundamentally compromising the integrity and confidentiality of web applications that rely on this bulletin board system. The vulnerability specifically manifests through unspecified vectors within the software's architecture, creating multiple potential attack surfaces that adversaries can exploit to manipulate user interactions and data processing within the application environment.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the vBulletin framework. When users interact with the platform, particularly through the vb_367_xss_fix_plugin.xml update component, the system fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. This flaw falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-site Scripting vulnerabilities where applications fail to properly encode or validate user input before incorporating it into dynamic web content. The vulnerability's relationship to CVE-2007-2909 indicates a broader pattern of security deficiencies within the vBulletin 3.6.7 release cycle, suggesting that the XSS protection mechanisms were insufficiently implemented or partially broken in the update process.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or session hijacking. Attackers can leverage this flaw to perform various malicious activities including stealing user cookies, redirecting victims to phishing sites, defacing web pages, or executing unauthorized administrative actions within the affected forum environment. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges to exploit the vulnerability. This makes the attack surface particularly broad and dangerous for organizations relying on vBulletin platforms, as any user who visits a compromised page could become a victim of the XSS attack. The vulnerability essentially allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that persist in the application's database or memory, creating a persistent threat that can affect multiple users over extended periods.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including updating to vBulletin version 3.6.7 PL1 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the XSS flaws. Additionally, administrators should implement comprehensive input validation measures, output encoding, and content security policies to reduce the risk of successful exploitation. The remediation process should also include thorough security audits of all plugins and modifications to ensure that third-party components do not introduce additional XSS vulnerabilities. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts and implement web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads attempting to leverage this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1059.007 technique for Scripting, specifically targeting web application interfaces where adversaries can inject malicious code through user input fields and dynamic content rendering mechanisms.