CVE-2018-16248 in b3log Solo
Summary
by MITRE
b3log Solo 2.9.3 has XSS in the Input page under the "Publish Articles" menu with an ID of "articleTags" stored in the "tag" JSON field, which allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary Web scripts or HTML via a carefully crafted site name in an admin-authenticated HTTP request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2018-16248 represents a cross-site scripting flaw in b3log Solo version 2.9.3 that resides within the article publishing functionality. This issue specifically affects the Input page under the "Publish Articles" menu where the "articleTags" element with an ID of "articleTags" is stored in the "tag" JSON field. The vulnerability occurs when administrators authenticate to the system and attempt to publish articles, creating a persistent vector for malicious code injection. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code through carefully crafted site names within admin-authenticated HTTP requests.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability leverages the insecure handling of user input in the tag field processing mechanism. When administrators submit articles through the publishing interface, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape the tag values before storing them in the JSON structure. This creates a classic XSS attack surface where malicious payloads can be embedded within the tag names and subsequently executed when the content is rendered back to users. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only administrative authentication, making it accessible to users with legitimate access privileges who may be compromised or acting maliciously.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it provides attackers with the capability to perform session hijacking, steal administrative credentials, redirect users to malicious sites, or deface the website content. The stored XSS nature means that the malicious code persists in the database and will execute every time the affected page is loaded, potentially affecting multiple users over extended periods. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, access sensitive administrative functions, or establish persistent backdoors within the blogging platform. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-site Scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is sent to a web browser without proper validation or escaping, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Scripting through the execution of malicious scripts in web browsers.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-16248 should focus on immediate patching of the b3log Solo application to version 2.9.4 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the input sanitization issues. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures, particularly for all user-supplied data that gets stored and later rendered. The system should employ proper HTML escaping mechanisms for all tag values and implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution capabilities. Additionally, administrators should conduct regular security audits of their web applications, implement network monitoring to detect suspicious authentication patterns, and consider implementing multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating and sanitizing all user inputs, particularly in administrative interfaces where the potential for damage is significantly elevated.