CVE-2009-3488 in Bibliography
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Bibliography (aka Biblio) module 6.x-1.6 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users, with certain content-creation privileges, to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the Title field, probably a different vulnerability than CVE-2009-3479.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/22/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3488 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the Bibliography module version 6.x-1.6 for the Drupal content management system. This security weakness specifically affects authenticated users who possess certain content-creation privileges within the Drupal environment, making it a targeted issue that leverages user-level permissions to execute malicious code. The vulnerability resides in how the system processes and renders data within the Title field of bibliography entries, creating an avenue for attackers to inject malicious scripts that can be executed when other users view the affected content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the Bibliography module's handling of user-provided data. When users with appropriate permissions create or edit bibliography entries, the system fails to properly escape or filter special characters in the Title field, allowing attackers to embed malicious javascript code or html elements. This weakness falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored XSS vulnerability since the malicious content is persisted in the database and executed whenever the affected page is rendered to other users. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only authenticated access with limited content creation privileges, making it accessible to users who might not have administrative rights but still possess the ability to modify content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or display issues, as it can enable attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of other users' browsers. This capability allows threat actors to potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, perform actions on behalf of victims, or even escalate privileges within the Drupal environment. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through legitimate content creation workflows, making it difficult to detect and prevent through traditional security monitoring approaches. Users who view affected bibliography entries become victims of the stored XSS attack, with their browsers executing the injected malicious code as if it were legitimate content from the trusted Drupal site.
Security mitigations for CVE-2009-3488 should prioritize immediate patching of the Bibliography module to version 6.x-1.7 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for input validation and output sanitization. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures including comprehensive input validation for all user-supplied content, regular security audits of contributed modules, and the principle of least privilege when assigning content creation permissions. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection, while regular security monitoring should include detection of unusual content creation patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of module security in open-source content management systems and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious content, highlighting how seemingly minor flaws in contributed modules can create significant security risks within enterprise environments.