CVE-2008-1698 in Simple Gallery
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in gallery.php in Simple Gallery 2.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the album parameter to index.php. 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 • 11/12/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1698 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Simple Gallery 2.2 web application, specifically affecting the gallery.php component. This issue arises from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before incorporating it into web responses. The vulnerability manifests when attackers exploit the album parameter in index.php to inject malicious scripts that can be executed in the context of other users' browsers. The affected Simple Gallery 2.2 application does not adequately filter or escape special characters from the album parameter, creating a pathway for persistent XSS attacks that can compromise user sessions and execute unauthorized commands.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the album parameter within the index.php script, which then gets processed by gallery.php without proper sanitization. When the application renders the album name in the web interface, it fails to encode or escape potentially dangerous characters such as angle brackets, quotes, or JavaScript escape sequences. This allows attackers to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that executes in the victim's browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting as a code injection flaw where untrusted data is improperly handled in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable sophisticated attack vectors including session fixation, cookie theft, and redirection to phishing sites. An attacker could craft malicious album names that contain embedded JavaScript payloads designed to steal authentication tokens or redirect users to fraudulent websites. The persistent nature of this vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious scripts remain active as long as the vulnerable application continues to display the compromised album names. This creates ongoing risk for users who encounter the malicious content, potentially affecting thousands of visitors depending on the gallery's exposure and usage patterns.
Security mitigations for CVE-2008-1698 should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding techniques to prevent the injection of malicious content. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied data through proper escaping mechanisms before rendering it in web pages, particularly when the data is used in HTML contexts. Implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Organizations should also consider upgrading to patched versions of Simple Gallery 2.2 or migrating to more secure gallery solutions that follow modern security practices. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output encoding as fundamental security controls that should be implemented consistently across all web applications to prevent XSS attacks. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering through malicious content delivery, highlighting the need for comprehensive security measures that address both the technical implementation flaws and the broader attack surface considerations.