CVE-2012-2075 in Contact Save
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Contact Save module 6.x-1.x before 6.x-1.5 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the access site-wide contact form permission to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2021
The CVE-2012-2075 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Contact Save module for Drupal version 6.x-1.x, specifically affecting versions prior to 6.x-1.5. This vulnerability resides in the core functionality that handles contact form submissions and data processing, creating a significant security risk for Drupal installations that rely on the module for managing user communications. The flaw specifically targets authenticated users who possess the access site-wide contact form permission, making it particularly dangerous as it leverages existing user privileges to execute malicious code. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data theft, as it can enable attackers to manipulate the application's behavior and potentially compromise user sessions.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs through unspecified vectors within the Contact Save module's data handling processes. While the exact code paths remain unspecified in the CVE description, such vulnerabilities typically arise from inadequate input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Attackers exploiting this flaw can inject malicious scripts or HTML code that gets executed in the context of other users' browsers when they view contact form data or related content. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic case of insufficient output validation where user-provided data is not properly escaped or filtered before being rendered in web pages. The vulnerability's classification as a remote authenticated attack means that exploitation does not require the attacker to be physically present or have elevated privileges beyond what is normally granted to legitimate users.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-2075 extends far beyond simple data manipulation, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive user information, redirect users to malicious sites, or even escalate their privileges within the application. When an authenticated user with contact form access permissions is compromised, the attacker gains the ability to inject persistent scripts that can affect all users who view the affected contact form data. This vulnerability particularly threatens websites that rely heavily on contact forms for user communication, as it can be used to compromise user trust and potentially lead to broader system compromises. The attack vector allows for the execution of malicious code in the context of the victim's browser session, making it a significant threat to user privacy and application integrity. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability provides a reliable method for executing persistent XSS attacks without requiring complex exploitation techniques.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the available patch version 6.x-1.5 of the Contact Save module, which addresses the input validation and output encoding issues that enable the XSS attack. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce any regressions in the contact form functionality. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing additional security measures such as content security policies to provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of regular security updates and the need for thorough input validation across all user-facing application components. Security teams should also conduct audits of other modules and custom code to identify similar XSS vulnerabilities that may exist in the broader application ecosystem. This incident underscores the critical nature of maintaining up-to-date security patches and the potential consequences of delaying updates, particularly for modules that handle user input and generate dynamic content. The vulnerability's presence in a widely used Drupal module demonstrates how security flaws in commonly deployed components can affect numerous organizations simultaneously, making coordinated patch management and vulnerability assessment essential practices for maintaining web application security.