CVE-2009-4346 in Fe Rtenews
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Frontend news submitter with RTE (fe_rtenews) extension 1.4.1 and earlier for TYPO3 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2017
The CVE-2009-4346 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the TYPO3 content management system, specifically affecting the Frontend news submitter with RTE extension version 1.4.1 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the frontend submission functionality that processes news articles through a rich text editor component, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can exploit user input handling mechanisms. The vulnerability's severity stems from its ability to allow remote code execution through web script injection, potentially compromising user sessions and enabling unauthorized access to sensitive information.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs through improper input sanitization within the fe_rtenews extension's frontend submission process. When users submit news content through the rich text editor interface, the application fails to adequately validate or escape user-provided data before rendering it back to other users. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers, leveraging the trust relationship between the web application and its users. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple input points within the submission form or editor functionality could serve as attack entry points, making the vulnerability particularly challenging to fully mitigate without comprehensive input validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it enables attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive user credentials, and potentially escalate privileges within the TYPO3 environment. Attackers can craft malicious submissions that redirect users to phishing sites, inject malicious advertisements, or even execute arbitrary commands on vulnerable systems if additional vulnerabilities exist. The vulnerability affects the entire TYPO3 ecosystem that utilizes the affected extension, potentially compromising thousands of websites that rely on this particular frontend submission functionality for user-generated content management.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of defense to address this vulnerability, including immediate patching of the fe_rtenews extension to versions that properly sanitize user input and validate all frontend submissions. The mitigation strategy should incorporate comprehensive input validation, output encoding, and the implementation of Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution. Additionally, security teams should conduct thorough penetration testing to identify any additional vectors where similar vulnerabilities might exist within the TYPO3 installation, particularly focusing on other frontend extensions that process user input through rich text editors. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and secure input handling as defined in the OWASP Top Ten security framework. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1566 technique of "Phishing with Social Engineering," as attackers can leverage the XSS to deliver malicious payloads that appear legitimate to end users.