CVE-2010-4960 in Mh Branchenbuch
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Branchenbuch (aka Yellow Pages or mh_branchenbuch) extension before 0.9.1 for TYPO3 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2018
The CVE-2010-4960 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Branchenbuch extension for TYPO3 content management systems. This vulnerability specifically affects versions prior to 0.9.1 and creates a significant security risk by allowing remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the application's user interface. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within the extension's codebase, which fails to properly escape or filter user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. The vulnerability exists in the extension's handling of unspecified input vectors, suggesting that multiple pathways within the codebase could potentially be exploited by malicious actors.
The technical exploitation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when user input is processed and displayed without proper sanitization measures. Attackers can craft malicious payloads that, when executed, can steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. This particular vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that has been consistently identified as one of the most prevalent and dangerous vulnerabilities in web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a web application attack vector where adversaries leverage XSS to establish persistent access to user sessions and compromise the integrity of web applications.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-4960 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks within the TYPO3 ecosystem. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can potentially hijack user sessions, modify content displayed to other users, or even escalate privileges within the application if the extension has elevated permissions. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the Branchenbuch extension which is designed to provide yellow pages or directory services, making it particularly dangerous for businesses that rely on this functionality for customer information management. The widespread adoption of TYPO3 as a content management platform means that organizations using vulnerable versions of this extension face significant exposure to various attack vectors that could compromise their entire web infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-4960 primarily focus on immediate patching of the affected TYPO3 extension to version 0.9.1 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes to prevent the XSS exploitation. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout their web applications, particularly for any user-supplied content. The implementation of Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can provide additional defense-in-depth measures to prevent the execution of unauthorized scripts even if XSS vulnerabilities are present in other parts of the application. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other extensions or custom code within the TYPO3 environment, as the presence of one XSS vulnerability often indicates potential weaknesses in the overall security architecture of web applications. Network monitoring and intrusion detection systems should also be configured to detect suspicious patterns of XSS attack attempts that may be targeting this or similar vulnerabilities.