CVE-2011-4680 in vtiger
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the customer portal in vtiger CRM before 5.2.0 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2019
The CVE-2011-4680 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in vtiger CRM customer portal systems prior to version 5.2.0, exposing organizations to significant cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, making it a well-documented and severe class of web application security issues. The vulnerability exists within the customer portal component of vtiger CRM, which serves as a web interface for customers to interact with the organization's CRM system, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit web application weaknesses.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the customer portal's web application code. Attackers can leverage this weakness by injecting malicious web scripts or HTML content through unspecified vectors, which are typically user-supplied inputs that are not properly sanitized before being rendered back to other users. These unspecified vectors likely encompass various input fields within the portal such as customer names, contact information, message fields, or any other user-editable content areas. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the victim's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or data exfiltration.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or display issues, as it creates a persistent security risk for organizations using affected vtiger CRM versions. Attackers could leverage these XSS vulnerabilities to steal customer session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, or inject phishing content that appears legitimate within the trusted CRM interface. This compromises not only the confidentiality and integrity of customer data but also undermines the trust relationship between the organization and its customers. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or insider knowledge to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in environments where customer portal access is widely distributed.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to vtiger CRM version 5.2.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as no effective workarounds exist for the underlying input validation flaws. The remediation process should include comprehensive security testing of all customer portal components to ensure that similar vulnerabilities have not been introduced in other areas of the application. Security teams should also implement additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on unusual patterns in user input or unexpected content delivery. This vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for credential harvesting through phishing and T1059 for command and script injection, highlighting the multi-faceted nature of the threat. Organizations should also conduct security awareness training for administrators and users to recognize potential signs of XSS exploitation attempts, ensuring that the remediation process includes both technical fixes and procedural improvements to prevent future incidents.