CVE-2010-4511 in Movabletype
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Movable Type 4.x before 4.35 and 5.x before 5.04 has unknown impact and attack vectors related to the "dynamic publishing error message."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/19/2015
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-4511 represents a security flaw within Movable Type content management systems that affects versions 4.x prior to 4.35 and 5.x prior to 5.04. This unspecified vulnerability specifically relates to dynamic publishing error messages, indicating that the system's handling of error conditions during content publishing operations contains a security weakness that could potentially be exploited by malicious actors. The ambiguity in the vulnerability description suggests that the exact nature of the flaw remains unspecified in the initial disclosure, making it particularly concerning for security professionals who must assess risk without complete technical details.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in how Movable Type processes and displays error messages during dynamic publishing operations. When publishing content, the system generates error messages to inform users about issues that may have occurred during the publishing process. The flaw appears to be in the way these error messages are constructed or displayed, potentially allowing attackers to inject malicious content or extract sensitive information through carefully crafted inputs. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure or injection attacks, where error handling mechanisms become attack vectors rather than protective measures. The weakness in dynamic error message generation could potentially lead to cross-site scripting attacks, information leakage, or other security breaches depending on how the system processes user inputs during publishing operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple error handling failures, as it represents a potential entry point for attackers seeking to compromise content management systems. Organizations using affected versions of Movable Type may be vulnerable to unauthorized access or data exposure through maliciously crafted publishing requests that trigger the vulnerable error handling code path. The unspecified nature of both the attack vectors and impact means that security teams must assume the worst-case scenarios and implement defensive measures proactively. This vulnerability could enable attackers to gain insights into system configurations, potentially leading to more sophisticated attacks or information gathering that could compromise the entire content management infrastructure. The risk is particularly significant for organizations that rely heavily on Movable Type for their web publishing needs and may not have adequate monitoring or input validation in place for error conditions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-4511 should focus on immediate version upgrades to the patched releases of Movable Type 4.35 and 5.04, as these versions contain the necessary fixes for the dynamic publishing error message vulnerability. Organizations should also implement robust input validation and sanitization measures for all user inputs that may trigger publishing operations, ensuring that error messages are properly escaped and do not contain sensitive system information. Security professionals should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their Movable Type installations to identify any custom error handling code that may be vulnerable to similar issues. The implementation of proper logging and monitoring for error conditions can help detect exploitation attempts, while adherence to secure coding practices for error handling should be enforced throughout the organization's development processes. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-20 input validation and CWE-119 improper restriction of operations within a recognized memory buffer, and could potentially map to ATT&CK techniques related to credential access and defense evasion through information gathering activities.