CVE-2009-0736 in Pebble
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Pebble before 2.3.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-0736 represents a cross-site scripting flaw in Pebble blogging software versions prior to 2.3.2. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The weakness allows malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of a victim's browser session, potentially leading to unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Pebble platform. Attackers can exploit this weakness through unspecified vectors that likely involve user-controllable data inputs that are not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages. The vulnerability exists because the application fails to adequately filter or escape special characters in user-supplied content, enabling attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute in the browser context of other users who view the affected content.
From an operational perspective, this XSS vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations using Pebble blogging platforms. An attacker could exploit this weakness to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users, redirect victims to malicious sites, or deface the blog content. The impact extends beyond simple data theft as the vulnerability could enable more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft through session hijacking or the delivery of malware through drive-by downloads. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require physical access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous for web applications.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability primarily involves upgrading to Pebble version 2.3.2 or later, which includes the necessary patches to address the XSS flaw. Organizations should also implement proper input validation and output encoding practices as recommended by the Open Web Application Security Project OWASP guidelines. Additional protective measures include implementing Content Security Policy headers, using proper HTML escaping techniques, and conducting regular security assessments of web applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect against common web application vulnerabilities that are well-documented in the ATT&CK framework under the web application attack patterns category.