CVE-2017-6006 in Symphony
Summary
by MITRE
Symphony 2.6.11 has XSS in publish/articles/new/ via the Body field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/15/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-6006 affects Symphony 2.6.11, a content management system that suffers from a cross-site scripting flaw in its article publishing functionality. This security weakness exists within the Body field of the publish/articles/new/ endpoint, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject persistent script code into the application's user interface. The vulnerability represents a classic case of insufficient input validation and output encoding, where user-supplied content fails to undergo proper sanitization before being rendered back to other users. The flaw allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of other users' browsers, potentially enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious websites.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly escape or filter user input submitted through the Body field during article creation. When legitimate users view articles containing malicious scripts, the browser executes the injected code without proper security controls. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it operates through the content management interface itself, meaning that any user with publishing privileges could potentially exploit this weakness to compromise other users within the system. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that Symphony is designed for collaborative content management, making it likely that multiple users interact with published content regularly.
The operational consequences of CVE-2017-6006 extend beyond simple script execution, as successful exploitation can lead to complete session compromise and unauthorized access to administrative functions. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, modify content, or extract sensitive information from the application's database through the compromised user sessions. The threat landscape for this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers scripting through web shells, and T1566.001, covering spearphishing through social engineering. Organizations using Symphony 2.6.11 face significant risk of unauthorized data access and system compromise, particularly in environments where content editors have elevated privileges. The vulnerability's persistence stems from the fact that stored XSS attacks can affect multiple users over extended periods, making it a particularly dangerous flaw in collaborative environments.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-6006 require immediate implementation of proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's content handling pipeline. Security patches should include comprehensive validation of all user-supplied content, particularly in fields that are rendered back to users. The recommended approach involves implementing Content Security Policy headers, using proper HTML escaping routines, and employing regular expression validation to filter out potentially malicious script patterns. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts. The fix should address the root cause by ensuring that all data entering the system undergoes proper sanitization before storage, and that data leaving the system is properly encoded for safe rendering in different contexts. Additionally, security awareness training for content editors and administrators can help prevent accidental exploitation through social engineering attacks that might leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access to the system.