CVE-2014-3949 in gridelements
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the layout wizard in the Grid Elements (gridelements) extension before 1.5.1 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 for TYPO3 allows remote authenticated backend users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/10/2019
The CVE-2014-3949 vulnerability represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the Grid Elements extension for TYPO3 content management system. This vulnerability specifically affects the layout wizard component and impacts versions prior to 1.5.1 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3, making it a significant security concern for TYPO3 installations that utilize this extension. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it targets authenticated backend users, meaning attackers who have gained access to legitimate administrative accounts can exploit this flaw to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the Grid Elements extension's layout wizard functionality. When authenticated backend users interact with the wizard interface, the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it in the web page context. This allows attackers to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that gets executed when other users view the affected pages. The unspecified vectors suggest that the vulnerability could be triggered through multiple input points within the wizard interface, making it particularly challenging to fully mitigate without comprehensive input sanitization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it enables attackers with backend access to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation. Since the attack requires only authenticated access to the TYPO3 backend, it represents a significant risk for organizations where administrative credentials might be compromised through social engineering, weak authentication practices, or credential theft. The vulnerability could also serve as a stepping stone for more extensive attacks within the TYPO3 environment, potentially leading to complete system compromise. This aligns with CWE-79 which classifies cross-site scripting vulnerabilities as a critical weakness in web applications, and fits within ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to the patched versions of the Grid Elements extension, specifically versions 1.5.1 and 2.0.3 or later. Additionally, administrators should implement comprehensive input validation measures and ensure that all user-supplied data is properly escaped before being rendered in web interfaces. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual activities within backend user sessions, and regular security audits should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other TYPO3 extensions. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and implementing robust security practices throughout the entire application stack.