CVE-2008-4669 in Recipe Script
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in search.php in Dan Fletcher Recipe Script allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the keyword 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 • 09/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-4669 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Dan Fletcher Recipe Script application, specifically affecting the search.php component. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a fundamental weakness in web application security that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content, creating an avenue for malicious code execution.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the keyword parameter in the search.php script, where attackers can craft malicious input that gets reflected back to users without proper sanitization or encoding. When a victim accesses a crafted URL containing malicious script code within the keyword parameter, the script executes in the victim's browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. This reflective XSS variant is particularly dangerous because it requires no persistent storage of the malicious payload and can be delivered through social engineering tactics such as phishing emails or compromised websites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to establish persistent access to user sessions and potentially escalate privileges within the application. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 Phishing, as it can be leveraged to deliver malicious payloads through deceptive search results or crafted URLs. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to unauthorized data access, modification of recipe content, or even complete compromise of user accounts if session tokens are exposed. Organizations relying on this script may experience reputational damage and regulatory compliance issues if user data is compromised through such attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-4669 should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The recommended approach includes sanitizing all user-supplied input through proper encoding functions such as htmlspecialchars() in PHP environments, implementing Content Security Policy headers to restrict script execution, and utilizing parameterized queries for any dynamic content generation. Additionally, developers should adopt secure coding practices that align with OWASP Top Ten recommendations and ensure regular security assessments of web applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output encoding as fundamental security controls that should be implemented at every layer of web application development. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring systems to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while maintaining up-to-date security patches for all third-party components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced through external dependencies.