CVE-2013-2652 in WebCollab
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in help/help_language.php in WebCollab 3.30 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via the item parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2022
The CVE-2013-2652 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting and header injection flaw within the WebCollab 3.30 content management system that exposes organizations to sophisticated attack vectors. This vulnerability specifically affects the help/help_language.php component where user input is improperly sanitized before being processed in HTTP header construction. The flaw enables remote attackers to inject malicious carriage return line feed sequences that can manipulate HTTP responses, creating dangerous conditions for web application security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization practices within the WebCollab application's parameter handling mechanisms. When the item parameter is passed to help_language.php without proper filtering, the application fails to escape or encode special characters that could be interpreted as HTTP header delimiters. This creates a pathway for attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers into the response stream, potentially allowing them to redirect users to malicious sites, steal session cookies, or manipulate web browser behavior through response splitting techniques. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the HTTP protocol implementation within the web server environment.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-2652 extends beyond simple data theft or redirection attacks, as it enables sophisticated man-in-the-middle scenarios and session hijacking operations. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to inject malicious headers that modify browser behavior, potentially causing users to execute unintended actions or access unauthorized resources. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be leveraged for HTTP response splitting, where attackers inject multiple HTTP responses that may be interpreted by different components of the web application or proxy servers in unexpected ways. This creates opportunities for cache poisoning, cross-site scripting attacks, and other advanced exploitation techniques that can compromise entire web application infrastructures.
Organizations using WebCollab 3.30 or earlier versions should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, parameter sanitization, and proper HTTP header construction practices. The recommended approach involves implementing strict input filtering that removes or encodes dangerous characters such as carriage return and line feed sequences before processing user-supplied data. Security professionals should also consider implementing web application firewalls, input validation layers, and regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the web infrastructure. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-113 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, and represents a technique commonly associated with ATT&CK tactic TA0011 (Command and Control) through response manipulation and HTTP header injection methods that can be used to establish persistent access to web applications.