CVE-2008-1174 in AuthentiX
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in editUser.asp in AuthentiX 6.3b1 Trial allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the username parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/12/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1174 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the AuthentiX 6.3b1 Trial web application, specifically affecting the editUser.asp component. This issue resides in the input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing, creating an exploitable condition that enables malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content into the application's response. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects the username parameter, which is a fundamental input field commonly used in authentication and user management systems, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise user sessions or manipulate application behavior.
The technical nature of this flaw aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities where web applications fail to properly validate or escape user-controllable data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. The vulnerability operates by allowing an attacker to submit malicious input through the username parameter that gets reflected back to other users or stored within the application's database without proper sanitization. This creates a persistent XSS vector that can be exploited to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the victim's browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The flaw demonstrates a critical weakness in the application's data handling pipeline where input validation occurs too late in the processing cycle or not at all.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system. Attackers can leverage this flaw to steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, deface web pages, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The impact extends beyond individual user compromise to potentially affect the entire application ecosystem, especially if the vulnerable application handles sensitive user information or provides administrative functions. The trial version of AuthentiX suggests this vulnerability may be present in production systems as well, given that many organizations use trial versions to evaluate functionality before purchasing full licenses, thereby exposing their environments to potential exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-1174 should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's codebase. The primary remediation involves sanitizing all user inputs, particularly those used in dynamic web page generation, through proper HTML escaping and validation techniques. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit script execution and prevent unauthorized code injection. Additionally, the application should employ proper parameter validation, including length restrictions, character set validation, and regular expression matching to ensure that username inputs conform to expected formats. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and the ATT&CK framework, specifically addressing techniques related to web application exploitation and credential access. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components, as this type of flaw often indicates broader security weaknesses within the application architecture that require comprehensive remediation rather than isolated patches.