CVE-2014-1620 in HIOX Guest Book
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in add.php in HIOX Guest Book (HGB) 5.0 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) name1, (2) email, or (3) cmt parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-1620 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the HIOX Guest Book version 5.0 web application. This issue affects the add.php script which processes guest book entries and fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it back to web browsers. The vulnerability manifests through three distinct input parameters namely name1, email, and cmt which are all susceptible to malicious injection attacks. The flaw falls under the category of CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a fundamental weakness in web application security that allows attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of the victim's browser session.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. When users submit guest book entries through the add.php script, the application directly incorporates the provided values into HTML output without adequate sanitization. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious payloads within any of the three vulnerable parameters, which then get executed when other users view the guest book entries. This creates a persistent XSS vector that can be leveraged for session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no privileged access to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered by any visitor to the affected website.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or user inconvenience. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can establish a foothold within the victim's browser environment and potentially escalate privileges through session manipulation or credential harvesting. The persistent nature of stored XSS means that the malicious code remains active in the guest book entries and will execute every time the page is loaded by any user, creating an ongoing threat vector. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.008 Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell and T1566.001 Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment, as it provides a mechanism for attackers to deliver malicious payloads through seemingly legitimate guest book entries. The vulnerability also aligns with the broader category of T1531 Account Access Removal, as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to user accounts.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-1620 require immediate implementation of proper input sanitization and output encoding practices. The most effective approach involves implementing strict input validation that filters out potentially malicious characters and employing context-specific output encoding before rendering any user-supplied content. The application should utilize a whitelist approach for acceptable input characters and implement proper HTML entity encoding for all dynamic content. Additionally, developers should consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to further limit the execution scope of injected scripts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and input validation testing, as it represents a classic example of preventable web application security flaws. Organizations should ensure that all web applications undergo comprehensive security testing including dynamic and static analysis to identify similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors. The remediation process should include updating the HIOX Guest Book to a patched version if available, or implementing proper input sanitization measures if the application continues to be used in its current form.