CVE-2010-4726 in Smarty
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the math plugin in Smarty before 3.0.0 RC1 has unknown impact and remote attack vectors. NOTE: this might overlap CVE-2009-1669.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/08/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-4726 affects the math plugin component within the Smarty template engine prior to version 3.0.0 RC1. This issue represents a critical security gap that could potentially allow attackers to exploit weaknesses in the mathematical expression processing functionality. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability's impact and attack vectors suggests that the exact mechanism of exploitation remains partially unclear, though it likely involves manipulation of mathematical expressions within template files. The Smarty template engine serves as a widely-used PHP template processing system that enables developers to separate presentation logic from business logic in web applications, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations relying on template-based web development.
The technical flaw resides within the math plugin's handling of mathematical expressions, which appears to lack proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms. When processing mathematical operations within Smarty templates, the system likely fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied data that gets interpreted as mathematical expressions. This could enable an attacker to inject malicious mathematical expressions or manipulate the evaluation process to achieve unintended outcomes. The vulnerability's potential for remote exploitation suggests that attackers could craft malicious input through web forms, API endpoints, or other user-controllable inputs that get processed by the Smarty template engine. This represents a classic input validation weakness that could lead to various attack vectors including code injection, denial of service, or potentially remote code execution depending on the specific implementation details.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to web applications that utilize Smarty template processing, particularly those handling user-generated content or dynamic data. The impact could range from data corruption and service disruption to full system compromise if the vulnerability allows for arbitrary code execution. Organizations running affected versions of Smarty would be exposed to potential attacks targeting their web applications, especially those with complex templating systems or those that process mathematical expressions from untrusted sources. The overlap with CVE-2009-1669 indicates this may represent a broader class of issues within the Smarty math plugin functionality, suggesting that similar vulnerabilities might exist in related components or that the same underlying flaw manifests in different ways. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which covers improper input validation, and could potentially map to ATT&CK techniques involving input validation flaws and remote code execution.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrading to Smarty version 3.0.0 RC1 or later, which should contain fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures including input validation at multiple layers, sanitization of user-supplied mathematical expressions, and monitoring for suspicious template processing activities. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems using affected Smarty versions and ensure proper patch management procedures are in place. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and runtime application self-protection mechanisms can provide additional defense-in-depth measures against potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of keeping template engines and other critical libraries updated, as these components often handle user input in ways that can create significant security attack surfaces when not properly secured.