CVE-2018-11326 in Joomla
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Joomla! Core before 3.8.8. Inadequate input filtering leads to a multiple XSS vulnerabilities. Additionally, the default filtering settings could potentially allow users of the default Administrator user group to perform a XSS attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/14/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11326 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness within Joomla framework's handling of user inputs across multiple components and interfaces, creating numerous attack vectors that could be exploited by malicious actors to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the application's security sanitization processes where user-provided content is not adequately filtered or escaped before being stored in the database or rendered in web interfaces. This inadequate input filtering allows attackers to inject malicious javascript code through various entry points within the Joomla! administrative and frontend interfaces. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the default configuration settings of the CMS, meaning that out-of-the-box installations are potentially vulnerable without any additional security hardening measures. The default Administrator user group settings further exacerbate the risk by potentially enabling authenticated users with minimal privileges to execute XSS attacks against other users within the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection as it provides attackers with the capability to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, redirect users to malicious sites, and potentially escalate privileges within the Joomla are at heightened risk since they do not need to implement additional malicious configurations to exploit this weakness. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which describes Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for scripting languages and T1548.002 for abuse of privileges, particularly when considering the potential for privilege escalation through compromised administrator sessions.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to Joomla! Core version 3.8.8 or later to address this vulnerability, as this release includes comprehensive input filtering improvements that properly sanitize user inputs across all affected components. Additionally, implementing proper content security policies, regular security audits, and monitoring for suspicious user activity can help detect and mitigate potential exploitation attempts. Security administrators should also review and harden default user permissions, ensuring that the default administrator group has appropriate access controls and that unnecessary privileges are removed. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in web applications and highlights the necessity of maintaining current security patches for content management systems to prevent exploitation of known weaknesses that could lead to complete system compromise.