CVE-2013-4899 in Twilight
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Twilight CMS 5.17 and possibly earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the PATH_INFO to the gallery/ page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2024
The CVE-2013-4899 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Twilight CMS version 5.17 and potentially earlier releases, demonstrating a fundamental failure in input validation and output encoding mechanisms. This vulnerability specifically targets the gallery/ page endpoint and exploits the PATH_INFO parameter, which is commonly used in web applications to pass additional path information to the server. The flaw arises from the application's inability to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied input before rendering it within the web page context, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript code.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when remote attackers craft malicious URLs containing specially formatted PATH_INFO parameters that are then processed by the gallery/ page handler. When the application fails to adequately filter or escape these parameters before displaying them in the browser, the injected scripts execute within the context of other users' sessions. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for Initial Access through Spearphishing Attachments or links, as attackers could leverage this vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows for persistent XSS attacks that can compromise user sessions, steal sensitive information, or redirect users to malicious sites.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-4899 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, data theft, and privilege escalation within the CMS environment. An attacker could potentially inject scripts that capture user credentials, modify content, or create backdoor access points within the application. The vulnerability affects not just individual users but can compromise the entire content management system, potentially leading to complete system takeover if the CMS has administrative capabilities. Organizations using Twilight CMS versions 5.17 or earlier face significant risk of unauthorized access and data compromise, particularly in environments where users may encounter malicious links or where the CMS is used for sensitive content management.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security architecture improvements. The most effective immediate solution involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application, specifically ensuring that all PATH_INFO parameters are sanitized before being processed or displayed. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious input patterns, while also implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution capabilities. Additionally, regular security updates and patches should be applied to ensure all known vulnerabilities are addressed, with particular attention to the CWE-79 remediation techniques that include proper encoding of output data and validation of all user-supplied inputs. The ATT&CK framework suggests implementing defensive measures such as monitoring for suspicious URL patterns and user behavior anomalies that could indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the web application stack, as this type of flaw often indicates broader input validation weaknesses that require comprehensive remediation across the entire codebase.