CVE-2010-5303 in timthumb
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the displayError function in timthumb.php in TimThumb before 1.15 (r85), as used in multiple products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors related to $errorString.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2019
The CVE-2010-5303 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the TimThumb content management system component that affected numerous web applications. This vulnerability resides in the displayError function of the timthumb.php file, specifically in versions prior to 1.15 (r85), making it a persistent security risk across multiple products that incorporated this library. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within web pages. The vulnerability specifically impacts how error messages are handled when the system encounters issues during image processing operations, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can exploit the $errorString variable to inject malicious scripts.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of input parameters that are subsequently processed by the displayError function. When TimThumb encounters an error condition during image handling, it constructs an error message using the $errorString variable which contains unsanitized user input. This unvalidated data is then directly embedded into the HTML output without proper HTML escaping or encoding, creating a classic XSS vulnerability. Attackers can craft malicious input that, when processed by the vulnerable function, executes arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of a victim's browser session. The vulnerability's classification as a server-side XSS issue means that the malicious script executes on the server during the error handling process, potentially allowing attackers to perform actions such as stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or defacing web pages.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-5303 extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with a foothold for more sophisticated attacks within affected systems. This vulnerability can be leveraged to establish persistent access through session hijacking, deface websites with malicious content, or redirect users to phishing sites that harvest credentials. The widespread adoption of TimThumb across various content management systems, including WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal installations, amplifies the potential attack surface significantly. Organizations using vulnerable versions of TimThumb face risks of data theft, service disruption, and reputational damage when attackers successfully exploit this flaw. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor secure coding practices related to input validation and output sanitization, which aligns with CWE-79 (Cross-site Scripting) and CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) categories within the CWE database. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566 (Phishing) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) techniques, as attackers can use the XSS capability to deliver malicious payloads and execute commands through browser-based attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-5303 require immediate patching of affected TimThumb installations to version 1.15 or later, which includes proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation routines that sanitize all user-supplied data before processing, particularly focusing on error handling functions that may expose raw input to web output. Web application firewalls can provide additional protection by monitoring for suspicious input patterns, though this should not replace proper code-level fixes. Regular security audits of third-party components and libraries should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across the entire application stack. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date third-party libraries and implementing secure coding practices that prevent XSS attacks through proper input validation and output encoding, as recommended by OWASP security guidelines and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) security configuration standards.