CVE-2013-1786 in Company
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the 3 slide gallery in the Company theme before 7.x-1.4 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 vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-1786 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the 3 slide gallery component of the Company theme for Drupal platforms. This issue affects versions prior to 7.x-1.4 and specifically targets authenticated users who possess the administer themes permission. The vulnerability classifies under CWE-79 which defines cross-site scripting as a critical security weakness allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into web applications viewed by other users. The attack vector exploits the theme's gallery functionality where malicious input can be processed and executed without proper sanitization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the theme's handling of user-provided content for the 3 slide gallery feature. When authenticated users with sufficient privileges submit data through the gallery interface, the system fails to adequately validate or sanitize the input before rendering it in the web page context. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code or HTML elements that execute in the browsers of other users who view the affected gallery. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it requires only the administer themes permission, which is typically granted to site administrators or users with elevated privileges, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple administrators have access to the system.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability creates significant risks for Drupal-based websites since it enables persistent XSS attacks that can compromise user sessions, steal sensitive information, or redirect users to malicious sites. The attack requires minimal privileges compared to other XSS vulnerabilities, making it accessible to users who should normally have trusted access to the system. The 3 slide gallery component typically handles various types of user input including image captions, descriptions, and other metadata fields that may be processed without proper sanitization. This vulnerability can be exploited to create malicious redirects, steal cookies, perform actions on behalf of users, or even install malware through browser-based attacks.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to the ATT&CK framework's T1566 technique for initial access through web application attacks and T1059 for command and control through scripting. The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to Drupal Company theme version 7.x-1.4 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation issues. Additionally, administrators should implement proper input sanitization measures, conduct regular security audits of theme components, and apply the principle of least privilege by limiting the number of users with administer themes permissions. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies and regular vulnerability scanning to detect similar issues in other theme components or custom modules that may be susceptible to similar XSS vulnerabilities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of thorough input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly in components that process user-generated content for display.