CVE-2017-1000144 in Mahara
Summary
by MITRE
Mahara 1.9 before 1.9.6 and 1.10 before 1.10.4 and 15.04 before 15.04.1 are vulnerable to a site admin or institution admin being able to place HTML and Javascript into an institution display name, which will be displayed to other users unescaped on some Mahara system pages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/04/2019
This vulnerability exists in Mahara learning management system versions prior to specific patches, specifically affecting releases 1.9 before 1.9.6, 1.10 before 1.10.4, and 15.04 before 15.04.1. The flaw represents a classic cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows malicious actors with administrative privileges to inject malicious code into system display elements. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the institution display name field, which is used across multiple system pages where institutional information is rendered to end users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the improper handling of user-supplied data within the Mahara platform's rendering pipeline. When administrators create or modify institution display names, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape HTML and JavaScript content before displaying it on various pages throughout the application. This creates a persistent cross-site scripting vector where malicious code injected by an attacker with sufficient privileges can execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it leverages legitimate administrative functionality to establish a persistent attack vector that can affect all users who view the affected pages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables attackers with administrative access to compromise the security of other users within the same institution. Once exploited, the malicious code could perform various harmful actions including stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, defacing the institution's display, or even executing more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft or privilege escalation within the application. The vulnerability affects the core trust model of the platform since users expect institutional display information to be safe and legitimate. This issue falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, and it aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, particularly when malicious javascript is executed in user browsers.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to already possess administrative privileges within the Mahara system, either as a site administrator or institution administrator. This makes it a privilege escalation vector rather than a direct entry point, but it significantly amplifies the impact of compromised administrative accounts. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of the platform, indicating a long-standing issue that was not properly addressed in the codebase. Organizations using affected versions should immediately apply the relevant security patches to prevent potential exploitation. The recommended mitigation strategy involves implementing proper input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms for all user-supplied content that is rendered in web pages, ensuring that HTML and JavaScript characters are properly encoded before display to prevent XSS attacks.