CVE-2013-1844 in Piwik
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Piwik before 1.11 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2019
The CVE-2013-1844 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the Piwik analytics platform prior to version 1.11. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security flaws. Piwik, as a web analytics platform, collects and processes user data through web interfaces, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit XSS vulnerabilities. The vulnerability's classification as a remote attack vector means that malicious actors can exploit it without requiring physical access to the system or prior authentication, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on Piwik for their web analytics.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within Piwik's web application components. Attackers can inject malicious scripts or HTML content through unspecified vectors, which typically involve parameters or data fields that are not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of a victim's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further exploitation of the compromised user's privileges. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple entry points within the application could be exploited, making the vulnerability particularly challenging to fully assess and secure.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-1844 extends beyond simple data corruption or service disruption. When exploited, this vulnerability enables attackers to perform session hijacking attacks, steal user credentials, or manipulate the analytics data collected by the platform. In a business context, this could result in compromised marketing data, loss of competitive intelligence, and potential exposure of sensitive user information. Organizations using Piwik for web analytics may find their collected data being manipulated or their user sessions being compromised, which could severely impact their ability to make informed business decisions based on accurate analytics. The vulnerability also presents a risk of credential theft, as attackers could potentially capture authentication tokens or session cookies from users interacting with the compromised Piwik installation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate patching of the Piwik platform to version 1.11 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures throughout their web applications, following the principle of least privilege and secure coding practices. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell and T1566.001 for Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment, as attackers could leverage such vulnerabilities to establish persistent access or deliver malicious payloads through compromised analytics platforms. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious script injection attempts to detect potential exploitation attempts.