CVE-2009-3911 in TFTgallery
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in settings.php in TFTgallery 0.13 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the sample parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3911 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the TFTgallery 0.13 web application, specifically in the settings.php file. This issue falls under the category of CWE-79 which defines improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a critical security concern for web applications that process user input without adequate sanitization. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly validate or escape user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute unauthorized scripts within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the sample parameter within the settings.php script, which accepts user input that is directly embedded into the web page output without proper sanitization measures. Attackers can craft malicious payloads containing HTML or JavaScript code within the sample parameter value, which gets executed when other users view the affected page. This type of XSS vulnerability represents a CWE-79 weakness where the application does not properly encode or escape user-controllable data before rendering it in web responses, allowing attackers to inject malicious content that persists in the application's output.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with the capability to perform session hijacking, defacement of web pages, and potentially steal sensitive user information. When executed successfully, the injected scripts can access cookies, session tokens, and other sensitive data that users have stored in their browsers. This vulnerability enables attackers to impersonate legitimate users, access restricted functionality, or redirect victims to malicious websites, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users may have administrative privileges or access to sensitive data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-3911 should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the TFTgallery application. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user-provided input through proper HTML encoding before rendering it in web pages, specifically targeting the sample parameter in settings.php. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded, preventing unauthorized code execution even if the XSS vulnerability persists. Organizations should also consider implementing proper parameter validation and escaping techniques as recommended by the OWASP Top Ten project, which directly addresses this class of vulnerability through the use of secure coding practices that align with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter. The remediation process should include thorough code review of all input handling mechanisms and implementation of automated security testing to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future releases.