CVE-2013-7368 in Gnew
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Gnew 2013.1 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the gnew_template parameter to (1) users/profile.php, (2) articles/index.php, or (3) admin/polls.php; (4) category_id parameter to news/submit.php; news_id parameter to (5) news/send.php or (6) comments/add.php; or (7) post_subject or (8) thread_id parameter to posts/edit.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/10/2026
The CVE-2013-7368 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting the Gnew 2013.1 content management system, exposing multiple attack vectors that enable remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within user browsers. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically manifesting as reflected XSS attacks that occur when user-supplied input is improperly sanitized and directly incorporated into web page responses without adequate output encoding or validation. The vulnerability affects several key components of the application including user profile management, article handling, administrative polling features, news submission, news distribution, comment systems, and forum post editing functionalities.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within the affected PHP scripts. Attackers can exploit the gnew_template parameter in users/profile.php, articles/index.php, and admin/polls.php by injecting malicious payloads that get executed when legitimate users view the affected pages. Additionally, the category_id parameter in news/submit.php, news_id parameter in news/send.php and comments/add.php, and post_subject or thread_id parameters in posts/edit.php all present similar injection opportunities. These attack vectors demonstrate poor application security practices where user input flows directly into HTML output without proper context-aware encoding or validation, creating persistent XSS vulnerabilities that can be exploited across different functional areas of the application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of web pages, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker could craft payloads that steal session cookies from authenticated users, potentially gaining administrative privileges or accessing sensitive user data. The reflected nature of these XSS vulnerabilities means that the malicious scripts execute in the victim's browser context, making them particularly dangerous for authenticated users who may have elevated privileges. The widespread presence of these vulnerabilities across multiple files indicates a systemic security flaw in the application's input handling architecture, suggesting that similar issues may exist in other parameters not specifically mentioned in the CVE description.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms across all user-supplied parameters. The recommended approach involves applying context-specific encoding before rendering any user input in HTML contexts, utilizing the principle of least privilege for input sanitization, and implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution. Organizations should also consider implementing Web Application Firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads, conduct regular security code reviews focusing on input validation patterns, and establish secure coding practices that prevent direct user input inclusion in dynamic HTML generation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following OWASP Top Ten security guidelines and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect against injection attacks, with specific reference to ATT&CK technique T1059.005 for script injection and T1531 for credential access through session manipulation.