CVE-2012-1082 in Terminal
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Terminal PHP Shell (terminal) extension 0.3.2 and earlier for TYPO3 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2019
The CVE-2012-1082 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Terminal PHP Shell extension for TYPO3 content management system. This vulnerability affects versions 0.3.2 and earlier, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on TYPO3 for their web infrastructure. The vulnerability specifically targets the terminal extension component that provides shell-like functionality within the TYPO3 backend, making it particularly dangerous as it operates within the administrative interface where users have elevated privileges.
The technical flaw manifests through unspecified vectors that allow authenticated users to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the TYPO3 system. This occurs because the extension fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it within the web interface. The vulnerability exists in the processing and output mechanisms of the terminal extension, where user-provided data is directly incorporated into HTML responses without adequate validation or encoding. This lack of input sanitization creates an environment where attackers can execute arbitrary code within the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple XSS attacks, as it enables authenticated attackers with access to the TYPO3 backend to escalate their privileges and execute malicious code against other users. The vulnerability affects the terminal extension's ability to properly handle user input, creating persistent XSS opportunities that can be exploited by attackers who have already gained legitimate access to the system. This makes the vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations where multiple administrators have access to the TYPO3 backend, as a single compromised account could lead to widespread exploitation across the entire system.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to versions of the Terminal PHP Shell extension that address this vulnerability, as the flaw affects the core functionality of the TYPO3 administrative interface. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering attacks that leverage XSS vulnerabilities. Security teams should implement input validation and output encoding measures, including proper HTML entity encoding for all user-provided content, and establish monitoring for suspicious terminal extension usage patterns. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments of their TYPO3 installations to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other extensions that may be susceptible to similar input validation flaws.