CVE-2015-4376 in Profile2 Privacy Module
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Profile2 Privacy module 7.x-1.x before 7.x-1.5 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the "Administer Profile2 Privacy Levels" 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-2015-4376 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Profile2 Privacy module for Drupal versions 7.x-1.x prior to 7.x-1.5. This vulnerability specifically targets authenticated users who possess the administrative permission to manage Profile2 Privacy Levels, creating a significant security risk for Drupal-based web applications. The flaw enables malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected user sessions, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the Profile2 Privacy module's handling of user-provided data. Attackers with the specified administrative privileges can manipulate the privacy level configurations to inject malicious scripts that will execute when other users view the affected pages. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, where improper validation of user-supplied data leads to the execution of unintended code in the victim's browser. The vulnerability's exploitation requires only authenticated access with specific permissions, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrative privileges are not properly restricted or monitored.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4376 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the Drupal application. When combined with other vulnerabilities or through social engineering techniques, this XSS flaw can serve as a stepping stone for more extensive attacks. The affected users are typically administrators or trusted content managers who have legitimate access to sensitive system configurations, making the potential damage significantly greater than standard user-level vulnerabilities. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability aligns with T1059.001 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1566.001 for Phishing, as it can facilitate both code execution and social engineering attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-4376 primarily focus on immediate patching of the Profile2 Privacy module to version 7.x-1.5 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement robust input validation and output encoding practices throughout their Drupal installations, particularly for modules handling user data. Network segmentation and proper access control measures can limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities by restricting administrative privileges to only essential personnel. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers and regular security auditing of Drupal modules can help detect and prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of keeping content management systems and their modules updated, as well as maintaining comprehensive security monitoring to detect unauthorized administrative access attempts.