CVE-2013-1783 in Business
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the 3 slide gallery in page--front.tpl.php in the Business theme before 7.x-1.8 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the administer themes permission to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2019
The CVE-2013-1783 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Business theme for Drupal platforms, specifically affecting versions prior to 7.x-1.8. This vulnerability resides in the page--front.tpl.php template file where the 3 slide gallery component is implemented, making it a significant concern for web applications utilizing the Drupal content management system. The flaw enables remote authenticated attackers who possess the administer themes permission to execute malicious scripts and inject arbitrary HTML content into the affected web pages. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data theft as it can facilitate more sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, credential theft, and the delivery of malicious payloads to unsuspecting users.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without proper validation or escaping mechanisms. The vulnerability occurs within the theme's template processing system where user-provided content intended for the slide gallery is rendered without adequate sanitization. Attackers with the administer themes permission can leverage this flaw to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers when they view the affected front page. This particular vector demonstrates how privileged user accounts can be exploited to compromise the entire web application's security posture, as the attacker's code executes with the privileges of the affected users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it enables attackers to manipulate the front page content in ways that can affect all visitors to the website. The ability to inject arbitrary HTML and script content means that attackers can redirect users to malicious sites, steal session cookies, deface the website, or perform other malicious activities that compromise user security and trust. The fact that this vulnerability requires only the administer themes permission makes it particularly dangerous because it can be exploited by users who have legitimate administrative access but may be compromised through credential theft or insider threats. This scenario creates a significant risk for organizations where theme administration privileges are granted to multiple users, as a single compromised account can lead to widespread exploitation.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched version 7.x-1.8 of the Business theme or applying the appropriate security patches released by the Drupal community. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and output escaping in template files, particularly those that handle user-generated content. Security measures should include regular security audits of custom themes and contributed modules, implementation of content security policies to limit script execution, and monitoring for unauthorized theme modifications. Additionally, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege by ensuring that only essential personnel have the administer themes permission, reducing the attack surface for such vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1059 technique of Command and Scripting Interpreter, as the exploitation involves injecting executable scripts into web applications. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security scanning to detect and prevent similar vulnerabilities in other components of their Drupal installations.