CVE-2007-6309 in webSPELL
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in index.php in webSPELL 4.1.2 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via (1) the galleryID parameter in a usergallery upload action; or the (2) upID, (3) tag, (4) month, (5) userID, or (6) year parameter in a calendar announce action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/13/2018
The CVE-2007-6309 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in webSPELL version 4.1.2, specifically within the index.php file that governs user interactions and content management. This vulnerability affects the webSPELL content management system and presents a significant security risk to websites utilizing this particular version. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly process user-supplied data before incorporating it into web page responses. The vulnerability manifests in two distinct attack vectors within the application's functionality, specifically targeting the gallery upload mechanism and calendar announcement features.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the application's failure to properly sanitize user input parameters during processing of gallery and calendar operations. Attackers can manipulate the galleryID parameter during usergallery upload actions to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers. Additionally, the calendar announce functionality contains multiple vulnerable parameters including upID, tag, month, userID, and year that all lack proper input validation. These parameters are processed without adequate sanitization, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code that gets executed when other users view the affected pages. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is incorporated into web page content without proper validation or encoding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to establish persistent malicious presence within affected web applications. Successful exploitation allows threat actors to hijack user sessions, redirect victims to malicious websites, steal sensitive information, or manipulate content displayed to other users. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of webSPELL's user interaction features, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of user data within the application. Users who visit pages containing maliciously injected content become victims of the XSS attack, with their browsers executing the injected scripts in the context of the vulnerable web application. This creates a significant risk for websites using webSPELL 4.1.2 where user-generated content is prevalent and trusted.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data, particularly parameters used in gallery and calendar functionalities. The recommended approach involves implementing proper parameter sanitization using established encoding techniques such as HTML entity encoding for output rendering. Security measures should include the implementation of Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution capabilities and prevent unauthorized code injection. Additionally, the affected webSPELL version should be upgraded to a patched release that addresses these input validation issues. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability falls under the T1566 technique category for Initial Access through malicious input, with potential lateral movement capabilities through session hijacking. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation and the principle of least privilege in web application security, where user-supplied data should never be trusted without proper sanitization before processing or display. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their web applications to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components and implement robust security controls including regular security updates and code reviews to prevent similar issues.