CVE-2014-8747 in Commons
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Drupal Commons module 7.x-3.x before 7.x-3.9 for Drupal allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to content creation and activity stream messages.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2017
The CVE-2014-8747 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Drupal Commons module version 7.x-3.x prior to 7.x-3.9, presenting a significant security risk to Drupal-based web applications. This vulnerability specifically targets the content creation and activity stream message handling mechanisms within the Drupal Commons module, which is widely used for building social networking platforms and community-driven websites. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of affected websites, potentially compromising user sessions and data integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the Commons module's activity stream processing functions. When users create content or generate activity stream messages, the module fails to properly escape or filter user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. This creates an environment where malicious actors can inject HTML tags, javascript code, or other malicious payloads that execute in the browsers of other users who view the affected content. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it leverages the trust relationship between users and the platform, allowing attackers to exploit legitimate user interactions to deliver malicious content.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious websites. The attack surface is broad since the Commons module is frequently used for social networking features where users regularly post content and interact through activity streams. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to user accounts, modification of content, and potential compromise of entire website installations. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Drupal Commons for community management, social platforms, and collaborative environments where user-generated content is prevalent.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting as a code injection flaw that occurs when untrusted data is sent to a web browser without proper validation or sanitization. This weakness directly maps to the ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which describes the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities for initial access. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Drupal Commons version 7.x-3.9 or later, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. Additionally, administrators should conduct security audits of all user-generated content and implement content security policies to limit the execution of scripts within the application context. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be maintained to identify similar weaknesses in other modules and components of the Drupal ecosystem.