CVE-2008-2924 in Webmatic
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Webmatic before 2.8 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/27/2018
The CVE-2008-2924 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the Webmatic content management system prior to version 2.8. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security flaws. The vulnerability exists in the application's handling of user input and output sanitization mechanisms, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of other users' browsers. Webmatic is a web-based content management system that allows users to create and manage websites, making this vulnerability particularly concerning as it could be exploited to compromise user sessions and access sensitive data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation and sanitization of user-supplied data within the Webmatic application. Attackers can leverage this weakness through unspecified vectors that likely involve form inputs, URL parameters, or other user-controllable data fields. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that gets executed when other users view the affected pages. This type of injection can occur in various contexts including form fields, URL parameters, or even in administrative interfaces where users might inadvertently trigger the malicious script execution. The lack of proper input filtering and output encoding creates a persistent security gap that enables attackers to bypass normal security controls and execute unauthorized code.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, data manipulation, and unauthorized access to user accounts. An attacker could craft malicious payloads that steal cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or inject malware into user browsers. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not need physical access to the system or network to carry out attacks, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for web applications that handle sensitive information or user data. The vulnerability affects all users of Webmatic versions before 2.8, potentially compromising thousands of websites that rely on this content management system for their online presence.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching to version 2.8 or later, which would contain the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent similar issues in the future. The principle of least privilege should be enforced, ensuring that user inputs are properly sanitized before being processed or displayed. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policies can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Security monitoring and regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors. This vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for credential access through social engineering, highlighting the multi-faceted nature of the threat landscape.