CVE-2011-4552 in One Click Orgs
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in One Click Orgs before 1.2.3 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the description field of (1) a new vote or (2) the eject member proposal feature.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/26/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2011-4552 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting the One Click Orgs plugin version prior to 1.2.3. This vulnerability resides in the web application's input validation mechanisms and specifically targets the description fields used within two distinct functional areas of the platform. The affected system processes user input through the vote creation interface and member ejection proposal features, creating multiple attack vectors for malicious actors to exploit. These XSS vulnerabilities arise from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied data before rendering it within the web interface, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the failure to properly escape or filter special characters in the description fields. When users submit content through either the new vote creation or eject member proposal functionality, the application fails to validate or sanitize the input before storing and displaying it. This allows attackers to embed malicious JavaScript code within the description field, which then executes whenever other users view the affected content. The vulnerability specifically impacts the web application's rendering engine, which directly incorporates user input into HTML output without proper context-aware escaping mechanisms. This flaw falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-site Scripting, representing a classic injection vulnerability where untrusted data is directly embedded into web pages viewed by other users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker could craft a vote description containing malicious JavaScript that steals session cookies from users viewing the content, potentially allowing unauthorized access to user accounts. The vulnerability also permits the execution of arbitrary HTML content, which could be used to display misleading information or redirect users to phishing sites. Given that the affected plugin likely serves organizational contexts where users trust the platform, the attack surface is particularly dangerous as users are more likely to interact with content from seemingly legitimate sources. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1531 which involves the exploitation of web applications to execute malicious code in user browsers.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. The most effective approach involves implementing context-aware escaping for all user-supplied content before rendering it in web pages, particularly for HTML contexts where JavaScript execution could occur. Developers should employ strict input validation that rejects or removes potentially dangerous characters and sequences from description fields. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. The most critical remediation action is updating to One Click Orgs version 1.2.3 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the XSS vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security scanning to detect similar vulnerabilities in other components of their web applications, as this type of injection flaw remains prevalent in web development practices.