CVE-2008-2675 in PHP Image Gallery
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in index.php in PHP Image Gallery allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the action 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 • 11/16/2017
The CVE-2008-2675 vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw in the PHP Image Gallery application's index.php file. This security weakness specifically targets the action parameter handling mechanism, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization practices within the web application's parameter processing logic. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads and injecting them through the action parameter, which then gets processed and rendered without proper security controls. The vulnerability's classification as a server-side injection flaw indicates that the application fails to properly validate or escape user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamic web content generation processes. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security concern that has been consistently documented in security frameworks and standards. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the web application and its users, allowing malicious code execution in the victim's browser context. The impact extends beyond simple script injection as it can enable session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability's exploitation potential is significant because it operates at the application layer where user input directly influences page rendering, making it a prime target for automated exploitation tools. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. The lack of detailed provenance information regarding this vulnerability's discovery and exploitation methods does not diminish its severity or the need for immediate remediation. The vulnerability's presence in a gallery application specifically highlights the risks associated with image management systems that process user-provided parameters. This flaw represents a failure in the application's defense-in-depth strategy, where multiple layers of security controls should have prevented malicious input from reaching the rendering pipeline. The vulnerability's exploitation typically requires minimal technical sophistication, making it accessible to a broad range of threat actors from casual script kiddies to organized cybercriminals. The security implications extend to user privacy and data integrity, as successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to user sessions and potentially sensitive information. Organizations should implement comprehensive security measures including input validation, output encoding, and regular security assessments to address such vulnerabilities. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of maintaining updated security practices and understanding the ATT&CK framework's relevance to web application exploitation techniques. Proper implementation of Content Security Policy headers and regular security testing can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. The vulnerability's persistence in legacy applications demonstrates the ongoing challenge of securing older web technologies and the necessity of continuous security monitoring and remediation efforts. This type of vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical need for secure coding practices and the implementation of automated security controls to prevent similar issues in modern web applications. The remediation process should include thorough code review, input validation implementation, and proper output encoding to ensure that user-supplied data cannot be executed as code within the application's context.