CVE-2007-4896 in Toms Gästebuch
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in admin/header.php in Toms Gaestebuch 1.01 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) lang[adminseite], (2) lang[ueberschrift], or (3) einst[metachar] parameter, different vectors than CVE-2007-4711.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/21/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-4896 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting the Toms Gaestebuch 1.01 content management system and earlier versions. This vulnerability resides within the admin/header.php component of the application, making it particularly dangerous as it targets the administrative interface that typically handles sensitive configuration data and user management functions. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of authenticated admin sessions, potentially leading to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the affected PHP script. Attackers can exploit three distinct parameter vectors to inject malicious content including lang[adminseite], lang[ueberschrift], and einst[metachar] parameters. These parameters appear to control administrative interface elements such as navigation labels, page titles, and metadata settings respectively. The vulnerability manifests when user-supplied input containing script tags or malicious HTML is processed without proper sanitization, allowing the injected code to execute in the browser context of authenticated administrators.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection as it provides attackers with potential access to administrative functions and sensitive system configurations. When an administrator visits a page containing the maliciously injected content, the stored XSS payload executes in their browser session, potentially enabling attackers to steal session cookies, modify administrative settings, or even gain full control over the application. This creates a persistent threat vector that remains active until the injected content is removed from the application's configuration files, making it particularly dangerous for long-term exploitation.
Security practitioners should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. Input validation should be strengthened to reject or sanitize all potentially dangerous characters and script tags from user-supplied parameters before processing. Output encoding techniques must be applied when rendering administrative interface elements to prevent script execution in browser contexts. Additionally, implementing content security policies can provide an additional barrier against XSS attacks by restricting script execution within the application's administrative interface. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a classic example of how insecure input handling can lead to persistent security weaknesses in web applications. The attack pattern follows typical XSS exploitation methodologies documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique of web application attacks, specifically focusing on client-side code injection vulnerabilities.