CVE-2011-0728 in Loggerhead
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in templatefunctions.py in Loggerhead before 1.18.1 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a filename, which is not properly handled in a revision view.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-0728 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the Loggerhead web application version 1.18.0 and earlier. This issue resides in the templatefunctions.py component and specifically affects the revision view functionality where filenames are processed without proper sanitization. The vulnerability enables authenticated remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized actions.
This vulnerability maps to CWE-79, which defines Cross-site Scripting as a weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web applications. The flaw occurs when user-supplied data is not properly validated or escaped before being rendered in web pages, creating an environment where attacker-controlled input can be executed as client-side code. In the context of Loggerhead, the filename parameter serves as the attack vector, where an authenticated user can craft a malicious filename containing script tags that will be displayed in the revision view without adequate filtering.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it represents a significant security risk for collaborative development environments where multiple users access shared repositories. When an authenticated user uploads or modifies a file with malicious content in its name, other users who view the revision history or file listings become potential victims of the XSS attack. This creates a chain reaction where compromised users may inadvertently execute malicious code, leading to potential data breaches, privilege escalation, or further exploitation of the system. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers do not need to compromise user credentials through other means, as they can leverage legitimate user sessions to execute their payloads.
The remediation for this vulnerability requires implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Loggerhead application. The fix should involve sanitizing all user-supplied input, particularly filenames, before rendering them in web contexts. This includes implementing proper HTML escaping for all dynamic content and ensuring that the templatefunctions.py module properly handles special characters in filenames. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to provide additional defense-in-depth against XSS attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices and proper input sanitization, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1203 which covers exploitation of web application vulnerabilities, and highlights the need for regular security assessments of web applications to identify and remediate such flaws before they can be exploited in real-world scenarios.