CVE-2009-0971 in Access Analyzer CGI
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in futomi s CGI Cafe Access Analyzer CGI Standard Version 3.8.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/11/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-0971 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the futomi s CGI Cafe Access Analyzer software version 3.8.1 and earlier releases. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of input validation failures that have been consistently categorized by CWE-79 as "Cross-site Scripting" within the CWE database. The vulnerability specifically affects web applications that process user input without proper sanitization, creating opportunities for malicious actors to execute unauthorized scripts within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation and sanitization of input parameters within the CGI application's processing pipeline. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious input that gets executed when other users view the affected web page. The vulnerability allows for arbitrary web script or HTML injection, which can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The unspecified vector nature of the attack suggests that multiple input points within the application could potentially be exploited, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it may not be immediately apparent which specific parameters are affected.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for organizations relying on the futomi s CGI Cafe Access Analyzer for web traffic analysis and monitoring. The impact extends beyond simple data corruption as attackers can leverage this weakness to establish persistent access to user sessions, potentially compromising sensitive network monitoring data and analysis results. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the target system or network, making it particularly concerning for organizations with limited network segmentation. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which describes social engineering tactics that can be enhanced through web-based vulnerabilities to gain initial access to systems.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should begin with immediate patching of the affected software to version 3.9.0 or later, as this represents the first release that addresses the identified XSS flaws. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation mechanisms that filter and sanitize all user-supplied data before processing, following the principle of least privilege in web application security design. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection, while regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications. The remediation process should also include thorough code review of input handling routines and implementation of proper output encoding to prevent script execution in web contexts, which directly addresses the fundamental weakness that enables this particular XSS attack vector.