CVE-2008-0125 in phpstats
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in phpstats.php in Michael Wagner phpstats 0.1 alpha allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the baseDir parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/17/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-0125 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the phpstats 0.1 alpha web application developed by Michael Wagner. This issue specifically affects the phpstats.php script where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web responses. The vulnerability manifests through the baseDir parameter which serves as an entry point for malicious input injection, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers.
This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a critical security weakness in web applications. The flaw occurs when the application fails to validate or escape user-supplied input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. In the case of phpstats, the baseDir parameter likely represents a directory path or configuration value that gets directly embedded into HTML output without proper sanitization mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious input containing script tags or other HTML elements that will execute when other users view the affected page.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of web pages, and redirection to malicious sites. When a victim visits a page that has been compromised through this XSS vulnerability, the injected scripts execute in their browser context, potentially allowing attackers to steal cookies, modify page content, or redirect users to phishing sites. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur without requiring any local access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous for web applications that are publicly accessible.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied input through proper escaping techniques before rendering it in web pages. This includes implementing strict input validation that rejects or filters out potentially malicious characters and patterns. Additionally, developers should employ context-aware output encoding to ensure that any data rendered in HTML, JavaScript, or CSS contexts is properly escaped. The implementation of Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can also provide an additional layer of protection by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security testing to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in their web applications. This vulnerability underscores the critical importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to established security frameworks that address common web application security flaws as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines.