CVE-2017-17907 in Car Rental Script
Summary
by MITRE
PHP Scripts Mall Car Rental Script has XSS via the admin/areaedit.php carid parameter or the admin/sitesettings.php websitename parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/14/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-17907 affects the PHP Scripts Mall Car Rental Script, a web application designed for managing car rental operations. This particular flaw represents a cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability manifests through two distinct attack vectors within the administrative interface of the application, specifically targeting the carid parameter in the admin/areaedit.php file and the websitename parameter in the admin/sitesettings.php file. These parameters are processed without proper input validation or output encoding, creating opportunities for malicious actors to execute unauthorized scripts in the context of affected user sessions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input within the administrative web interface. When administrators or users interact with the car rental management system, the application fails to properly escape or validate data entered into the carid and websitename parameters. This lack of input validation creates a pathway for attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that will execute in the browser of any user who views the affected pages. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic case of improper output encoding where user-controllable data is directly embedded into web responses without adequate sanitization. The attack occurs when the application processes these parameters and incorporates them into HTML output without proper HTML entity encoding or other protective measures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant within the context of administrative web applications. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can potentially hijack administrator sessions, steal sensitive information, modify critical system settings, or redirect users to malicious websites. The administrative interface of a car rental system typically contains sensitive operational data including vehicle inventory, pricing information, customer details, and booking records. By executing malicious scripts through the XSS vulnerability, attackers could gain unauthorized access to these administrative functions, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability also enables persistent XSS attacks where malicious scripts can be stored on the server and executed whenever the affected pages are accessed, allowing for long-term exploitation. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers Scripting through web shells and command execution via web interfaces, and T1566.001, which involves the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities for initial access.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. The primary remediation involves sanitizing all user-supplied input through comprehensive validation and encoding before processing or displaying any data within web responses. This includes implementing proper HTML entity encoding for all parameters used in page generation, particularly those that are directly included in HTML output. The application should employ a whitelist-based input validation approach that only accepts expected data formats and rejects any potentially malicious input. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Organizations should also consider implementing proper session management controls, including secure cookie attributes and session timeout mechanisms to limit the potential impact of any successful exploitation attempts. Regular security testing and code review practices should be established to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited in production environments. The fix should align with security best practices outlined in OWASP Top Ten and NIST Cybersecurity Framework guidelines for web application security.