CVE-2010-1997 in Saurus
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in admin/edit.php in Saurus CMS 4.7.0 allows remote authenticated users, with "Article list" edit privileges, to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the pealkiri parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/15/2025
The CVE-2010-1997 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Saurus CMS 4.7.0 administrative interface, specifically in the admin/edit.php component. This vulnerability exploits a fundamental weakness in input validation and output encoding mechanisms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts within the context of authenticated user sessions. The flaw is particularly concerning because it targets users with legitimate "Article list" edit privileges, meaning that the attack vector can be exploited by individuals who already possess authorized access to the content management system's administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through the pealkiri parameter, which serves as an entry point for malicious input manipulation. When authenticated users with appropriate privileges navigate to the article editing interface and submit specially crafted payloads through this parameter, the system fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before rendering it in the web page context. This failure directly violates established security principles for preventing XSS attacks and creates a persistent threat vector that can be leveraged by attackers to execute malicious code within the victim's browser session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it enables attackers to manipulate the administrative interface in ways that can compromise the entire content management system. An attacker with "Article list" edit privileges can craft malicious payloads that, when executed, could redirect users to phishing sites, steal session cookies, or even modify content in ways that persist across multiple user sessions. The vulnerability particularly affects the integrity and confidentiality aspects of the CMS, as it allows unauthorized manipulation of content and potential data exfiltration. This flaw aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, and demonstrates how insufficient input validation can create persistent security weaknesses within web applications.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal prerequisites beyond having legitimate administrative access, making it particularly dangerous in environments where privilege escalation is not properly enforced. Attackers can leverage this weakness to establish persistent footholds within the CMS environment, potentially leading to complete system compromise if additional vulnerabilities exist. The attack surface is further expanded when considering that many CMS installations share common user credentials across multiple administrative functions, allowing a single compromised session to provide broader access than initially intended. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigations including strict input validation, output encoding, and regular security assessments to prevent such vulnerabilities from being exploited. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a code injection technique under the T1566 threat group, highlighting the need for robust application security controls and proper input sanitization practices.