CVE-2008-6248 in Galatolo WebManager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in all.php in Galatolo WebManager 1.3a and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the tag parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-6248 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Galatolo WebManager 1.3a software suite, specifically affecting the all.php script. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of injection attacks and is categorized as CWE-79 in the Common Weakness Enumeration system, which defines it as "Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')". The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the tag parameter in the all.php script, which serves as the injection point for malicious payloads. When an attacker crafts a specially formatted input string containing script code within the tag parameter and submits it to the vulnerable application, the web server processes this input without adequate validation or sanitization measures. The flawed input then gets rendered in the web page output, causing the embedded malicious script to execute in the victim's browser when they view the affected page. This behavior constitutes a reflected cross-site scripting attack since the malicious script is reflected back to the user from the web application's response rather than being stored on the server.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities within the context of authenticated users' sessions. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, redirect victims to malicious websites, or even harvest sensitive information from the targeted application. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including Galatolo WebManager 1.3a, indicating that it represents a fundamental flaw in the application's input handling mechanisms rather than a temporary coding error. This widespread impact across multiple versions suggests that the developers failed to implement proper input validation and output encoding measures throughout the application's development lifecycle.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, where it maps to the technique T1059.001 "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell" and more broadly to T1566 "Phishing" as attackers may use XSS vulnerabilities to deliver phishing payloads. The vulnerability also aligns with the broader category of web application attacks that target user trust and session integrity. Organizations utilizing Galatolo WebManager should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, output encoding, and proper parameter sanitization. The recommended remediation approach involves implementing strict input validation that rejects or escapes special characters in the tag parameter, combined with output encoding that prevents script execution in web contexts. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers and using web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection against similar vulnerabilities in the future.