CVE-2008-5647 in Trac
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the HTML sanitizer filter in Trac before 0.11.2 allows attackers to conduct phishing attacks via unknown attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-5647 resides within the HTML sanitizer filter component of Trac version 0.11.1 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that enables malicious actors to execute phishing attacks through unspecified attack vectors. This issue falls under the broader category of insecure input handling and output encoding, which are fundamental concerns in web application security. The Trac platform, widely used for project management and bug tracking in software development environments, relies on its HTML sanitizer to prevent malicious content from being injected into web pages. However, this particular vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the sanitization process that allows attackers to bypass security controls.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate filtering mechanisms within Trac's HTML sanitizer, which fails to properly validate or escape user-provided content before rendering it in web interfaces. This weakness creates an environment where attackers can inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that appears legitimate to users. The unspecified attack vectors suggest that multiple methods could be exploited, potentially including the insertion of malicious links, iframe injections, or other forms of cross-site scripting attacks that would deceive users into believing they are interacting with trusted Trac interfaces. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous in collaborative environments where users trust the platform's security measures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it enables sophisticated social engineering campaigns that can compromise user credentials and system integrity. Attackers can craft deceptive pages that mimic legitimate Trac interfaces, leading users to unknowingly provide sensitive information or click on malicious links that could result in further compromise. This type of vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on Trac for development collaboration, as it undermines the trust model that users place in the platform. The phishing capability introduced by this vulnerability means that attackers can exploit the trust relationship users have with the Trac system to conduct more sophisticated attacks.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to Trac version 0.11.2 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the HTML sanitizer issues. Security teams should also implement additional monitoring for suspicious user activities and content submissions that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which addresses Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, and represents a classic example of insufficient output escaping or encoding that allows malicious code to execute in user browsers. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving social engineering and credential access through phishing, as attackers can leverage the compromised platform to target users within the organization. Organizations should also conduct thorough security reviews of their Trac installations and implement proper input validation and output encoding practices to prevent similar issues from occurring in other components of their software infrastructure.