CVE-2008-6637 in SAFARI Montage
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in forgotPW.php in Library Video Company SAFARI Montage 3.1.x allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) school and (2) email parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-6637 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness in the Library Video Company SAFARI Montage 3.1.x software suite, specifically affecting the forgotPW.php component. This issue falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security flaw that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability manifests in the password recovery functionality of the application, where the school and email parameters are not properly sanitized or validated before being processed and returned to users.
The technical flaw occurs when user input from the school and email parameters is directly incorporated into the web page response without adequate sanitization or encoding mechanisms. This allows a remote attacker to submit malicious payloads through these parameters, which are then executed in the context of other users' browsers who access the vulnerable page. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it leverages the legitimate password recovery process, making it more likely to succeed as users trust the functionality and are less suspicious of the page behavior. The vulnerability exists in the application's failure to implement proper input validation and output encoding, which are fundamental security measures that should prevent such injection attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration from authenticated users. An attacker could craft malicious payloads that steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or even modify the application's behavior to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in educational environments where the SAFARI Montage system is likely used, as it could compromise student and staff data privacy. The attack requires minimal technical expertise and can be executed through simple web requests, making it a significant risk for organizations that rely on the system for managing educational video resources and user authentication.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user inputs by removing or encoding potentially dangerous characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and script tags before processing or displaying the data. Organizations should implement the principle of least privilege in their web application security practices, ensuring that all user inputs are validated against a strict whitelist of acceptable characters and formats. The remediation should include updating the forgotPW.php script to properly escape output data and implement proper parameter validation. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and security monitoring systems to detect and prevent such attacks. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering attacks through malicious web content, and represents a classic example of how insecure input handling can lead to severe security breaches in web applications.