CVE-2016-1171 in Recruit Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Recruit plugin before 0.9.3 for baserCMS allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2019
The CVE-2016-1171 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Recruit plugin for baserCMS platforms prior to version 0.9.3. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security issues. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject malicious web scripts or HTML content into the application, potentially compromising user sessions and enabling various malicious activities. The unspecified vectors suggest that the attack could occur through multiple entry points within the plugin's functionality, making the vulnerability particularly concerning as it may be exploitable through various user input mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the Recruit plugin's codebase. When users interact with the plugin's features, particularly those involving form submissions or data display functions, the application fails to properly sanitize user-provided data before rendering it in the browser context. This lack of proper sanitization creates an environment where attackers can inject malicious payloads that execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script injection as it can enable session hijacking, credential theft, and the redirection of users to malicious websites. Attackers could leverage this flaw to establish persistent access to user accounts or to propagate malware through infected user sessions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations utilizing baserCMS platforms with the Recruit plugin. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit the vulnerability without requiring physical access to the system or local network presence. This makes the vulnerability particularly attractive to automated attack campaigns and widespread exploitation. The impact on user trust and organizational reputation can be severe, especially if the vulnerability is used to steal sensitive information or manipulate recruitment data. The vulnerability also increases the attack surface for more sophisticated attacks, as attackers could use the XSS payload as a foothold for further exploitation of the platform. Organizations may experience data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive recruitment information, and potential regulatory compliance violations depending on the nature of the data processed by the plugin.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1171 should prioritize immediate patching of the Recruit plugin to version 0.9.3 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation mechanisms that sanitize all user-provided data before processing or display. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection layers against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other plugins or components of the baserCMS platform. Organizations should also establish proper web application firewall rules to detect and block suspicious input patterns that may indicate XSS attempts. Additionally, implementing proper output encoding for all dynamic content ensures that any malicious input is rendered harmless when displayed to users. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of keeping third-party plugins and CMS components updated, as unpatched vulnerabilities represent one of the most common attack vectors in web application security breaches.