CVE-2009-4370 in Drupal
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Menu module (modules/menu/menu.admin.inc) in Drupal Core 6.x before 6.15 allows remote authenticated users with permissions to create new menus to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a menu description, which is not properly handled in the menu administration overview.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/30/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2009-4370 represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw within the Drupal content management system's core functionality. This issue specifically affects Drupal 6.x versions prior to 6.15 and resides within the Menu module's administrative interface. The vulnerability occurs when authenticated users with sufficient permissions attempt to create or modify menu items, providing malicious input in the menu description field that gets improperly rendered in the administrative overview page.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output encoding within the menu.admin.inc file. When administrators navigate to the menu administration overview, the system fails to properly escape or filter user-supplied content from menu descriptions before rendering it in the web interface. This creates an environment where malicious scripts can be executed within the context of other users' browsers who view the affected administrative pages. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only authenticated access with menu creation privileges, which many Drupal installations grant to editors or content managers.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to Drupal installations as it allows attackers with relatively low-level permissions to compromise the administrative interface. The impact extends beyond simple script execution, as attackers can potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of other administrators. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it leverages the trust relationship between administrators and the system, enabling persistent XSS payloads that can remain active until the affected menu items are removed or the system is patched. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in input validation and output encoding.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is limited to authenticated users with menu creation permissions, making it less severe than fully public XSS vulnerabilities but still highly concerning for organizations with less restrictive user permission models. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation even within administrative interfaces, where users may have elevated privileges. The flaw also highlights the need for comprehensive output encoding practices throughout the application lifecycle, particularly in areas where user-generated content is displayed back to authenticated users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-4370 include immediate patching to Drupal 6.15 or later versions, which contain the necessary input sanitization fixes. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures such as restricting menu creation permissions to only the most trusted users, implementing content security policies, and conducting regular security audits of administrative interfaces. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and the potential for seemingly minor flaws in administrative components to create significant security risks. This case study aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection and T1548.001 for privilege escalation through administrative interface compromise.