CVE-2012-0979 in TWiki
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in TWiki allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the organization field in a profile, involving (1) registration or (2) editing of the user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2019
The CVE-2012-0979 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the TWiki web application platform that fundamentally undermines user security and application integrity. This vulnerability specifically targets the organization field within user profiles, creating a pathway for remote attackers to execute malicious scripts against unsuspecting users. The flaw exists in the web application's input validation mechanisms, where user-supplied data from the organization field is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to users within the application interface. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-site Scripting, which is classified as a persistent security weakness in web applications where user inputs are inadequately filtered or escaped before being displayed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration. When users visit pages where the maliciously injected scripts are rendered, the attacker's code executes within the context of the victim's browser, potentially compromising their session cookies, stealing authentication tokens, or redirecting them to phishing sites. The vulnerability's exploitation occurs during two distinct phases of user interaction: either during the registration process when users enter organization information or during profile editing operations where existing users modify their organization details. This dual exploitation vector significantly increases the attack surface and makes the vulnerability more difficult to prevent through simple input validation measures.
Security practitioners must understand that this vulnerability represents a classic example of how insufficient output encoding can lead to devastating consequences in web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique under T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, where attackers leverage browser-based scripting to compromise user sessions. The vulnerability's presence in TWiki's profile management system demonstrates how seemingly benign input fields can become attack vectors when proper sanitization controls are absent. Organizations utilizing TWiki systems face significant risk exposure as attackers can craft malicious payloads that persist in user profiles and execute whenever other users view those profiles, creating a potential for widespread compromise across the application's user base.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-0979 must address both the immediate vulnerability and establish long-term defensive measures. The primary remediation involves implementing strict input validation and output encoding mechanisms that sanitize all user-supplied data before it is stored or rendered within the application interface. This includes applying HTML entity encoding to all profile fields, particularly the organization field, to prevent script execution. Organizations should also implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution contexts and establish proper input length restrictions to prevent buffer overflow conditions. Additionally, regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other input fields and application components. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of following secure coding practices and the principle of least privilege in web application development, where user inputs should never be trusted without proper sanitization and validation.