CVE-2014-1914 in Command School Student Management System
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Command School Student Management System 1.06.01 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) topic parameter to sw/add_topic.php or (2) nick parameter to sw/chat/message.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-1914 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Command School Student Management System version 1.06.01. This issue manifests through two distinct attack vectors that enable remote threat actors to execute malicious scripts within the context of affected user sessions. The vulnerability resides in the system's insufficient input validation mechanisms, which fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing and rendering within web pages. The affected parameters include the topic parameter in the sw/add_topic.php endpoint and the nick parameter in the sw/chat/message.php endpoint, both of which accept unfiltered user input that can be exploited to inject arbitrary web script or HTML content.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration classification of CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in web applications. The flaw represents a classic reflected XSS attack scenario where malicious input is immediately reflected back to users without proper sanitization or encoding. The system's failure to implement proper input validation and output encoding creates an exploitable condition where attackers can craft malicious payloads that execute in the victim's browser context. When users navigate to pages containing the injected malicious content, the scripts execute automatically, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with persistent access to user sessions within the student management system. Given that this system handles educational data and potentially sensitive student information, the compromise of user sessions could lead to unauthorized access to academic records, personal information, and communication channels. The reflected nature of the XSS attack means that successful exploitation requires user interaction with malicious links, but once triggered, the attack can persist across multiple user sessions until the malicious content is removed from the system or the user clears their browser cache.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both the immediate technical flaw and broader security practices within the application. The primary remediation involves implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding across all user-supplied parameters, particularly those used in dynamic content generation. Security measures should include proper HTML entity encoding of all user input before rendering in web pages, as well as implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution. Additionally, the system should employ parameterized queries and input sanitization routines to prevent malicious data from being processed as executable code. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, while establishing regular security testing procedures to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the system. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in web applications and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Scripting, where attackers exploit XSS vulnerabilities to execute malicious scripts within user browsers.