CVE-2009-4963 in Commerce extension
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Commerce extension before 0.9.9 for TYPO3 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/02/2018
The CVE-2009-4963 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Commerce extension for TYPO3 content management system. This vulnerability affects versions prior to 0.9.9 and specifically targets authenticated users who can leverage the flaw to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the application. The Commerce extension serves as an e-commerce solution within TYPO3, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could potentially compromise online retail operations and customer data integrity.
The technical nature of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the Commerce extension's codebase. While the exact injection vectors remain unspecified in the CVE description, such vulnerabilities typically arise from improper handling of user-supplied data in form fields, URL parameters, or administrative interfaces. The flaw allows authenticated attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized transactions. This represents a classic server-side XSS vulnerability where the malicious code executes on the victim's browser rather than on the server itself, making it particularly insidious for web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with the capability to manipulate the Commerce extension's functionality and compromise user sessions. Attackers could potentially redirect users to malicious websites, steal sensitive customer information, or modify product listings and transaction data. Given that this affects the TYPO3 Commerce extension, organizations using this platform for e-commerce operations face significant risks including financial loss, reputational damage, and potential regulatory compliance violations. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers need valid user credentials, but this still represents a serious threat as it bypasses many standard security controls that protect against unauthenticated attacks.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to version 0.9.9 or later of the TYPO3 Commerce extension to remediate this vulnerability. The fix typically involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent malicious scripts from being executed. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive code reviews of all user input handling within the TYPO3 installation, particularly focusing on the Commerce extension components. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and it can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1566 related to credential harvesting through social engineering or compromised applications. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar issues in other TYPO3 extensions and custom modules that may present similar security risks.