CVE-2010-4852 in Eclime
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in login.php in Eclime 1.1.2b allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the reason parameter in a fail action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2025
The CVE-2010-4852 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Eclime 1.1.2b web application, specifically affecting the login.php script. This vulnerability exposes the application to remote code execution risks through malicious input manipulation. The flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input, particularly the reason parameter utilized during authentication failure scenarios. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that get executed within the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized access to sensitive application data. The vulnerability resides in the application's insufficient input validation mechanisms, which fail to adequately filter or escape special characters that could be interpreted as executable script code.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from the application's improper handling of the reason parameter during authentication failure operations. When users attempt to log in with invalid credentials, the system typically displays an error message containing the reason for failure. However, the Eclime application fails to sanitize this parameter before rendering it in the HTML response, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML elements. This type of vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79, which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where software does not properly encode or escape user-controllable data before including it in dynamically generated content. The flaw demonstrates poor input sanitization practices and inadequate output encoding, creating an environment where attacker-controlled data can be interpreted as executable code by web browsers.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-4852 extends beyond simple data theft, potentially enabling attackers to establish persistent access to the application environment. Once exploited, this vulnerability allows malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts in victims' browsers, which could redirect users to phishing sites, steal session cookies, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no special privileges or authentication to exploit, making it accessible to any remote attacker. This vulnerability undermines the fundamental security model of web applications by allowing untrusted input to influence the application's output, potentially leading to complete compromise of user sessions and sensitive information exposure. The impact is amplified when considering that authentication failure messages are frequently displayed to users, providing multiple opportunities for exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-4852 should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The primary defense involves sanitizing all user-controllable parameters before rendering them in HTML contexts, specifically implementing proper HTML entity encoding for the reason parameter. Organizations should adopt secure coding practices that align with OWASP Top Ten recommendations and implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution. Additionally, the application should employ proper input validation to reject or sanitize potentially malicious payloads before processing them. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the application stack, ensuring that all user inputs are properly validated and sanitized before being incorporated into dynamic content generation. The remediation process must include comprehensive testing to verify that all XSS vectors have been addressed and that legitimate application functionality remains intact.