CVE-2015-3390 in Facebook Album Fetcher Module
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Facebook Album Fetcher module for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the "access administration pages" permission to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/19/2019
The CVE-2015-3390 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Facebook Album Fetcher module for Drupal platforms, exposing organizations to significant security risks through authenticated user exploitation. This vulnerability specifically targets the administrative interface of Drupal websites, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected systems. The flaw resides in the module's improper handling of user input, particularly when processing data retrieved from Facebook albums, which can be manipulated by users possessing the "access administration pages" permission level. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges, as attackers only need authentication to the Drupal administrative interface rather than elevated system access, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrative accounts are compromised or where privilege escalation techniques are employed. The Facebook Album Fetcher module, designed to integrate Facebook album content into Drupal websites, becomes a vector for malicious code injection when processing external data without adequate sanitization mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the module's data processing pipeline. When administrators access the Facebook Album Fetcher administrative interface, the module retrieves and displays Facebook album data without proper sanitization of potentially malicious content. This failure to properly encode or escape user-supplied data creates opportunities for attackers to inject script tags, javascript code, or HTML elements that execute within the browser context of authenticated users. The vulnerability's unspecified vectors suggest that multiple injection points exist within the module's processing logic, potentially affecting various data fields including album titles, descriptions, image captions, or metadata associated with Facebook content. This lack of specificity in the vector description indicates a systemic weakness in the module's security architecture rather than a single point of failure, making the vulnerability more pervasive and difficult to fully address through targeted fixes. The flaw aligns with CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting vulnerabilities as weaknesses in input validation and output encoding, and demonstrates how improper handling of external data sources can create persistent security risks.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-3390 extends beyond simple script injection, as authenticated attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform various malicious activities within the targeted Drupal environment. Once exploited, attackers can access administrative functions, modify content, steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, or even establish persistent backdoors within the web application. The vulnerability creates a potential pathway for privilege escalation attacks, where attackers can use the injected scripts to access additional administrative modules or exploit other weaknesses within the Drupal platform. Since the vulnerability requires only the "access administration pages" permission, it can be exploited by users who have legitimate access to the administrative interface but may not have full system privileges, making it particularly dangerous in environments with shared administrative accounts or where access controls are not properly enforced. Organizations using vulnerable Drupal installations may experience unauthorized content modification, data exfiltration, or complete compromise of their web applications, especially when administrators are targeted through social engineering or credential theft attacks that grant them access to administrative interfaces.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-3390 must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future. The most effective immediate solution involves upgrading to the patched version of the Facebook Album Fetcher module or removing the module entirely from vulnerable Drupal installations. Organizations should also implement strict access controls and privilege management to minimize the number of users with administrative permissions, as this reduces the attack surface for exploitation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices, particularly in handling external data sources, and should prompt organizations to review their input validation and output encoding mechanisms across all web applications. Security professionals should implement comprehensive monitoring and logging of administrative activities to detect potential exploitation attempts, while also ensuring that all third-party modules undergo thorough security assessments before deployment. The incident underscores the necessity of following established security frameworks such as the OWASP Top Ten and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that include web application firewalls, content security policies, and regular security audits to prevent similar cross-site scripting vulnerabilities from compromising web applications. Organizations should also consider implementing automated vulnerability scanning tools and regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar weaknesses in their Drupal installations.