CVE-2009-3918 in Zoomify
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Zoomify module 5.x before 5.x-2.2 and 6.x before 6.x-1.4, a module for Drupal, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the node title.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/23/2019
The CVE-2009-3918 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Zoomify module for Drupal content management systems. This vulnerability affects versions 5.x prior to 5.x-2.2 and 6.x prior to 6.x-1.4, creating a significant security risk for Drupal websites that utilize this specific module. The flaw manifests when the module processes node titles without proper input sanitization, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content directly into the application's response.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation and sanitization of user-supplied input within the Zoomify module's processing pipeline. When administrators or users create or edit content nodes that contain malicious script tags in their titles, the module fails to properly escape or filter these inputs before rendering them in the web page output. This creates an environment where attacker-controlled content can be executed within the context of other users' browsers, effectively bypassing normal security boundaries that protect against client-side attacks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the browsers of unsuspecting users who view affected content. The impact extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as attackers can leverage this flaw to perform session hijacking, redirect users to malicious websites, or even execute more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft through XSS-based techniques. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users interact with the same Drupal installation, as a single compromised node title can affect all visitors to the affected pages.
The security implications of CVE-2009-3918 align with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in software applications. This classification indicates that the vulnerability exists due to insufficient input validation and output encoding practices within the Zoomify module's codebase. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a technique involving code injection within web applications, potentially leading to privilege escalation or data exfiltration when combined with other attack vectors.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement patch management procedures to upgrade to the fixed versions of the Zoomify module. The recommended mitigation strategy includes not only applying the vendor-provided security patches but also implementing additional input validation measures at the application level. Web application firewalls and content security policies should be configured to detect and block suspicious script content, while regular security audits should verify that all Drupal modules are running supported and secure versions. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing proper output encoding for all user-supplied content to prevent similar issues from occurring in other parts of the application.