CVE-2016-7839 in Blog
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting vulnerability in Olive Blog allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the search parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2020
The CVE-2016-7839 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the Olive Blog content management system, demonstrating a fundamental security weakness in web application input validation mechanisms. This vulnerability specifically affects the search functionality of the blogging platform, creating an attack vector that allows remote threat actors to execute malicious scripts within the context of other users' browsers. The flaw resides in how the application processes search parameters without adequate sanitization or output encoding, enabling attackers to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code that gets executed when other users view the search results page.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the search parameter handling mechanism of Olive Blog. When users submit search queries through the web interface, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before rendering it in the browser context. This allows attackers to craft malicious search terms containing script tags or other HTML elements that get embedded directly into the web page output. The vulnerability manifests as a classic reflected cross-site scripting issue, where the malicious payload is reflected back to the user through the application's response without any server-side processing or filtering of the input data. According to CWE classification, this corresponds to CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a well-documented weakness in web application security that has been consistently identified as a critical threat in OWASP Top Ten security risks.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-7839 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited for various malicious activities. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, inject phishing content, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability affects all users who interact with the search functionality of affected Olive Blog installations, potentially compromising the entire user base of a blog or website that relies on this platform. Security researchers have noted that such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they can be easily exploited through social engineering techniques, where attackers send crafted search queries to unsuspecting users via email or social media platforms. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001: Phishing for Information, as it can be used to craft convincing phishing attacks that appear legitimate within the context of a trusted blog environment.
Organizations and administrators affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations to protect their systems and users from potential exploitation. The primary remediation involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms for all user-supplied data, particularly search parameters. This includes sanitizing all input through proper escaping techniques before rendering content in web pages, implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution, and ensuring that all dynamic content is properly encoded for the target context. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security audits and penetration testing to identify similar issues in web applications. Organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious search queries, while also ensuring that all third-party components and plugins are regularly updated to address known security vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to verify that the input sanitization measures effectively prevent XSS attacks while maintaining the functionality of legitimate search operations.