CVE-2017-11128 in Bolt
Summary
by MITRE
Bolt CMS 3.2.14 allows stored XSS via text input, as demonstrated by the Title field of a New Entry.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2025
Bolt CMS version 3.2.14 contains a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that enables attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of authenticated users. This vulnerability specifically affects the Title field within the New Entry functionality, making it a significant threat to the application's security posture. The flaw represents a classic stored XSS attack vector where malicious input is permanently stored on the server and subsequently served to other users without proper sanitization or encoding.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the content management system's entry creation process. When administrators or users create new entries with malicious payloads in the Title field, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape the input before storing it in the database. This allows attackers to inject JavaScript code or other malicious content that persists across sessions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it targets a field that is commonly used and displayed throughout the administrative interface, providing multiple attack surfaces for exploitation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates severe risks for organizations using Bolt CMS 3.2.14. Attackers could leverage this flaw to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive credentials, perform unauthorized actions within the CMS, or even escalate privileges to gain administrative control over the entire content management system. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious code will continue to execute whenever the affected entry is viewed, potentially affecting multiple users over extended periods. This makes the vulnerability particularly insidious as it can remain undetected for long durations while continuously compromising user sessions and system integrity.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications. This classification indicates that the flaw involves the improper handling of untrusted data within the application's output generation process. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript and T1531 for Account Access Through Persistence Mechanisms, as attackers can establish persistent access through malicious scripts injected into the CMS. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation through patching to version 3.2.15 or later, which includes proper input sanitization and output encoding measures. Additionally, implementing proper content security policies and regular security scanning of user inputs can help detect and prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future.