CVE-2015-4369 in Trick Question Module
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Trick Question module before 6.x-1.5 and 7.x-1.x before 7.x-1.5 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the "Administer Trick Question" permission to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2019
The CVE-2015-4369 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Trick Question module for Drupal platforms, affecting versions prior to 6.x-1.5 and 7.x-1.x-1.5. This vulnerability specifically targets authenticated users who possess the "Administer Trick Question" permission, creating a significant security risk within Drupal-based web applications. The flaw enables malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of other users' browsers, potentially compromising the entire user session and sensitive data. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script injection, as it can facilitate more sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, data theft, and privilege escalation within the affected Drupal environment.
The technical nature of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the Trick Question module's handling of user-supplied data. Attackers with administrative privileges can leverage this flaw to inject malicious scripts into the module's configuration or content management interfaces. These scripts then execute whenever other users view the affected pages, creating a persistent threat vector that can be exploited across multiple user sessions. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the CVE description suggest that the vulnerability may manifest through various input fields or configuration parameters within the module, making it particularly challenging to fully mitigate without comprehensive code review. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic example of how privileged user accounts can be weaponized to compromise entire systems through injection attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4369 extends far beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to manipulate the Drupal application's behavior and access sensitive user information. When authenticated users with administrative privileges are compromised, attackers gain the ability to modify module settings, create malicious content, or redirect users to phishing sites. The vulnerability's persistence across user sessions means that once exploited, the malicious scripts continue to execute for all affected users until the module is properly updated or the injected code is manually removed. This makes the attack particularly dangerous in environments where administrators regularly interact with the module, as the window of opportunity for exploitation remains constant. Organizations using affected Drupal versions face potential data breaches, loss of user trust, and possible regulatory compliance violations that could result in significant financial and reputational damage.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-4369 center on immediate patching of the affected Drupal modules to versions 6.x-1.5 and 7.x-1.5 or later. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures including comprehensive input validation, output encoding, and regular security audits of all Drupal modules. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by limiting the "Administer Trick Question" permission to only absolutely necessary personnel, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual script injection patterns and anomalous module behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing content security policies and web application firewalls to provide additional layers of protection against XSS attacks. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and the critical role of module security in overall web application defense strategies, aligning with ATT&CK techniques that emphasize privilege escalation and code injection as primary attack vectors. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar issues in other third-party modules and prevent future exploitation opportunities.