CVE-2017-5961 in ionize
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in ionize through 1.0.8. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient filtration of user-supplied data in the "path" HTTP GET parameter passed to the "ionize-master/themes/admin/javascript/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/codemirror/dialog.php" URL. An attacker could execute arbitrary HTML and script code in a browser in the context of the vulnerable website.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-5961 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the ionize content management system version 1.0.8 and earlier. This issue stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly filter user-supplied data before processing. The vulnerability specifically manifests in the administrative interface where the path parameter is processed through the codemirror dialog.php endpoint, which is part of the TinyMCE rich text editor plugin integration. The flaw allows malicious actors to inject malicious scripts into the application's response, potentially compromising the security of the entire administrative environment.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the path HTTP GET parameter which is directly passed to the vulnerable PHP script without proper sanitization. When the application processes this parameter, it fails to implement adequate input validation measures that would prevent the injection of malicious content. This oversight creates a persistent cross-site scripting vector that enables attackers to execute arbitrary HTML and script code within the browser context of authenticated users. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it targets the administrative interface, meaning that successful exploitation could lead to complete compromise of the CMS installation.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations utilizing ionize CMS versions up to 1.0.8. Attackers could leverage this flaw to establish persistent access to the administrative interface, potentially leading to full system compromise through session hijacking, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it allows for more sophisticated attacks including the modification of website content, creation of backdoor accounts, and potential lateral movement within network environments where the compromised CMS is deployed. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script execution through web interfaces.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of the ionize CMS to version 1.0.9 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for input validation. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input sanitization measures at multiple layers including web application firewalls, proper parameter validation, and output encoding. Network segmentation and least privilege access controls can help limit the potential impact if exploitation occurs. Additionally, regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar input validation vulnerabilities in other components of the web application stack. The remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce regressions in functionality while maintaining the security hardening measures that prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.