CVE-2007-4945 in LetterGrade
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in LetterGrade allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via (1) a student s email address, (2) the year parameter to genbrws/Student/cal_month.php3, and other unspecified vectors related to the calendar. 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 • 11/02/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-4945 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the LetterGrade application that exposes users to significant security risks. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security flaws. The affected application appears to be a student information system or grade management platform that handles sensitive educational data and user communications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through multiple attack vectors that exploit the application's insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Attackers can inject malicious scripts through a student's email address field, which suggests that the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. Additionally, the year parameter in the genbrws/Student/cal_month.php3 endpoint presents another injection point, indicating that the calendar functionality lacks proper parameter validation. The unspecified vectors related to calendar functionality suggest that the vulnerability may extend beyond these documented paths, potentially affecting other calendar-related components within the application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts in the context of authenticated users' browsers. This means that an attacker could potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, deface the application interface, or perform actions on behalf of users with their privileges. The attack requires no special privileges to initiate, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone with access to the vulnerable application. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the LetterGrade system, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of educational data, user privacy, and system availability.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding across all user-supplied data points. The application should employ strict sanitization of all input parameters, particularly those used in dynamic URL construction and user profile fields. Implementing Content Security Policy headers and using proper HTML encoding functions when displaying user-generated content can significantly reduce the attack surface. Additionally, the application should utilize parameterized queries and input validation frameworks to prevent malicious code injection. Organizations should also implement regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of their educational technology infrastructure. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to web application security standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines to prevent similar issues in future development cycles.