CVE-2018-11487 in PHPMyWind
Summary
by MITRE
PHPMyWind 5.5 has XSS via the cid parameter to newsshow.php, or the query string to news.php or about.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/09/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11487 affects PHPMyWind version 5.5 and represents a cross-site scripting flaw that allows remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into web applications. This vulnerability specifically manifests through improper input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application's handling of user-supplied parameters. The affected scripts newsshow.php, news.php, and about.php all exhibit this weakness when processing the cid parameter and query string inputs respectively, creating multiple attack vectors for exploitation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize or escape user input before incorporating it into dynamic web page content. When the cid parameter is passed to newsshow.php or query string parameters are processed by news.php and about.php, the application directly incorporates these values into HTML output without adequate filtering or encoding. This creates an environment where malicious actors can inject script code that executes in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it provides attackers with a foothold for more sophisticated attacks within the application's ecosystem. The presence of XSS vulnerabilities in content management systems like PHPMyWind can enable attackers to manipulate displayed content, steal user sessions through cookie theft, or redirect users to phishing sites that mimic legitimate application interfaces. The multi-vector nature of this vulnerability across three different PHP scripts increases the attack surface and makes it more likely that an attacker can find a successful exploitation path.
Security practitioners should approach mitigation of this vulnerability through comprehensive input validation and output encoding strategies. The recommended approach involves implementing strict parameter validation to reject or sanitize any input containing potentially dangerous characters or script tags before processing. Additionally, developers should implement proper HTML escaping mechanisms when rendering user-supplied content to prevent script execution in browser contexts. This aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and the ATT&CK framework's T1059 technique for executing malicious code through web applications. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies and regular security testing to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future versions of the application.