CVE-2012-4892 in FlatnuX
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in FlatnuX CMS 2012-03.08 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) title_en, (2) summary_en, or (3) body_en parameter in a submitnews action to the news module, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-4890. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/21/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-4892 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting FlatnuX CMS versions up to 2012-03.08. This vulnerability resides within the news module's submitnews action, where malicious actors can exploit three specific parameters to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML content. The flaw demonstrates the classic characteristics of XSS vulnerabilities, where user-supplied input is not properly sanitized or validated before being rendered back to other users. This particular vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the content management system's news submission functionality, making it particularly dangerous for websites that rely on user-generated content or administrative news updates.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of three distinct input parameters: title_en, summary_en, and body_en within the news module's submitnews action. When these parameters receive unvalidated input containing malicious scripts, the CMS fails to properly escape or filter the content before storing and subsequently displaying it to other users. This creates a persistent XSS vector where the injected code executes in the context of the victim's browser session. The vulnerability is classified as a server-side input validation failure, which aligns with CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation into a Web Browser. The attack requires no authentication and can be executed by remote attackers, making it particularly severe for publicly accessible content management systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or even modify content on the target website. In a content management system context, this vulnerability poses significant risks to both administrator and end-user security, as it could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to administrative interfaces or to deface the entire website. The vulnerability's persistence stems from the fact that the malicious content is stored within the CMS database, meaning that the XSS attack will continue to affect users until the malicious content is removed from the system. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 - Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment, as attackers can use the vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads through seemingly legitimate news content.
The remediation approach for CVE-2012-4892 requires immediate implementation of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the FlatnuX CMS. Developers must ensure that all user-supplied content is sanitized before being processed or stored in the database, with particular attention to the three vulnerable parameters mentioned in the CVE description. The fix should implement strict input validation that rejects or escapes potentially dangerous characters and patterns, while also ensuring that all output is properly encoded for the target context. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to add an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of input validation in web applications and the necessity of following secure coding practices as outlined in OWASP Top 10 and other industry security standards. Given the age of this vulnerability and the specific CMS version affected, upgrading to a patched version of FlatnuX CMS represents the most effective mitigation strategy, as the vulnerability has likely been addressed in subsequent releases.