CVE-2008-4727 in Banner Student
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the contact update page (ss/bwgkoemr.P_UpdateEmrgContacts) in SunGard Banner Student 7.3 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the addr1 parameter. NOTE: this might be resultant from a CSRF vulnerability, but there are insufficient details to be sure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/15/2024
The CVE-2008-4727 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in SunGard Banner Student 7.3 software, specifically within the contact update functionality. This vulnerability resides in the ss/bwgkoemr.P_UpdateEmrgContacts page, which handles emergency contact information updates for students within the academic management system. The flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user input submitted through the addr1 parameter, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of authenticated user sessions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices within the web application's processing logic. When users submit emergency contact information through the addr1 field, the application stores this data without sufficient sanitization measures that would prevent malicious script execution. This weakness aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without adequate escaping or validation. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no special privileges to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by remote attackers to compromise user sessions and potentially escalate their access within the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive student information, or manipulate the application's functionality. An attacker could craft malicious payloads that, when executed, would redirect users to fraudulent websites, capture login credentials, or modify student records through the compromised session. Given that this vulnerability affects an emergency contact update page, attackers could potentially manipulate critical student information, which might have serious implications for student safety and institutional security. The potential for this vulnerability to be combined with CSRF attacks, as noted in the original description, suggests that attackers could orchestrate more sophisticated attacks that automatically submit malicious data without requiring explicit user interaction, making the threat even more severe.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability effectively. The primary remediation involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data, particularly within the addr1 parameter handling. This includes employing strict validation rules that reject or sanitize any HTML or script content before storing or displaying user input. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent execution of unauthorized scripts even if the vulnerability is not fully patched. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses throughout the application. The remediation process should follow established security frameworks such as those recommended by the OWASP Top Ten project, which emphasizes the importance of proper input sanitization and output encoding as fundamental defenses against XSS attacks. Organizations using SunGard Banner Student 7.3 should also consider upgrading to patched versions or implementing web application firewalls as temporary mitigations while permanent fixes are deployed.