CVE-2012-3243 in SEOgento Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the SEOgento plugin for Magento allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the id parameter. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2019
The CVE-2012-3243 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the SEOgento plugin for the Magento e-commerce platform, demonstrating a fundamental weakness in web application security that has persisted across numerous systems. This vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's handling of user input through the id parameter, creating an exploitable entry point that enables remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The flaw exists in the plugin's failure to properly sanitize or validate input data before rendering it within the application's user interface, which directly violates established security principles for input validation and output encoding.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate parameter handling within the SEOgento plugin's codebase, where the id parameter is directly incorporated into web responses without proper sanitization mechanisms. This allows attackers to craft malicious payloads that, when executed, can perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users or steal sensitive information from the application's session. The vulnerability classifies under CWE-79 as a failure to sanitize input, specifically manifesting as a reflected cross-site scripting attack where malicious scripts are reflected off the web server to the victim's browser. The attack vector operates through the standard HTTP request mechanism, where an attacker crafts a URL containing malicious script code within the id parameter and delivers it to victims through social engineering or direct access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, creating potential for significant data breaches and system compromise within Magento environments. Attackers could leverage this flaw to steal customer session cookies, modify product information displayed to users, redirect customers to malicious websites, or even execute administrative functions if the victim has elevated privileges. The vulnerability affects all versions of the SEOgento plugin that fail to implement proper input validation, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where Magento stores process sensitive customer data and financial transactions. This weakness creates a persistent threat that can be exploited by attackers with minimal technical expertise, as the vulnerability does not require complex attack chains or privileged access to exploit.
Organizations running affected Magento installations should prioritize immediate remediation through plugin updates from the vendor or implementation of temporary workarounds including input validation rules at the web application firewall level. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive parameter validation that filters or encodes all user-supplied input before processing, implementing proper output encoding for all dynamic content, and conducting regular security assessments of third-party plugins. Security teams should also consider implementing content security policies and monitoring for suspicious parameter values in web server logs, as this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments or links, making it a critical target for defensive security measures. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date third-party components and implementing robust security controls for all application inputs to prevent exploitation of similar weaknesses in the broader Magento ecosystem.