CVE-2007-5012 in PhpWebGallery
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in picture.php in PhpWebGallery 1.7.0, when Comments for all is enabled, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the author 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 • 09/08/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-5012 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the PhpWebGallery 1.7.0 web application, specifically affecting the picture.php script when the Comments for all feature is activated. This security weakness resides in the application's handling of user input within the author parameter, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability's exploitation potential stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize or validate input data before rendering it within web pages, which directly violates fundamental web security principles and established defensive coding practices.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when the Comments for all feature is enabled, which allows any visitor to submit comments including author information. When an attacker crafts a malicious payload and submits it through the author parameter, the web application processes this input without adequate sanitization measures. The vulnerable code path likely involves directly incorporating the author parameter value into HTML output without proper encoding or escaping mechanisms. This flaw falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities, where the application fails to validate or escape user-supplied data before including it in dynamically generated web content. The vulnerability's classification as reflected in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database demonstrates the persistent nature of input validation failures in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, potentially enabling attackers to perform session hijacking, deface web galleries, steal sensitive user information, or redirect victims to malicious websites. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to inject malicious scripts that capture cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or even execute malicious code on victim machines. The consequences are particularly severe in gallery environments where users may trust the application and its content, making social engineering aspects more effective. The vulnerability affects all users who have access to the comment submission functionality, potentially compromising the entire user base that interacts with the gallery. From an attack perspective, this flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers spearphishing with links, where malicious payloads are delivered through web-based interfaces, and T1059 which encompasses command and scripting interpreter techniques that leverage web application vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-5012 require immediate implementation of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The most effective remediation involves implementing strict input sanitization by filtering or escaping special characters in user-supplied author data before rendering it within HTML contexts. This approach aligns with the OWASP Top Ten security recommendations and follows the principle of least privilege in data handling. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy headers to add an additional layer of protection against script execution, while also ensuring that the web application employs proper HTML escaping routines for all dynamic content generation. The fix should include comprehensive testing of input validation mechanisms and regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other parts of the application. Additionally, the application should be updated to a more recent version of PhpWebGallery where such vulnerabilities have been addressed through proper code review processes and security hardening measures.