CVE-2018-5072 in Online Ticket Booking
Summary
by MITRE
Online Ticket Booking has XSS via the admin/sitesettings.php keyword parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-5072 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within the Online Ticket Booking application that specifically affects the admin/sitesettings.php component. This issue arises from insufficient input validation and output encoding practices that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before it is processed and rendered within the web application's administrative interface. The vulnerability is classified as a client-side attack vector that allows malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into the application's response, potentially compromising the security of authenticated administrators who interact with the affected page.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the keyword parameter within the admin/sitesettings.php endpoint, where user input is directly incorporated into the page's HTML output without proper sanitization mechanisms. When an administrator visits the page with maliciously crafted input in the keyword parameter, the injected JavaScript code executes within the administrator's browser context, potentially enabling attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of the administrator, or redirect users to malicious sites. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored XSS variant when the malicious input is persisted in the application's database or configuration files.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-5072 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for more sophisticated attacks within the administrative environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can leverage the compromised administrator session to modify critical system settings, access sensitive user data, or even escalate privileges to gain full control over the ticket booking system. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that administrative interfaces typically contain elevated privileges and access to sensitive business-critical data. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1548.001 for Abuse of Cloud Instance Metadata, as it enables attackers to execute malicious code within the privileged context of the administrative interface.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-5072 must focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's codebase. The most effective immediate solution involves sanitizing all user-supplied input through proper encoding functions such as htmlspecialchars in php or equivalent mechanisms in other languages, ensuring that any potentially malicious content is rendered harmless before being processed or displayed. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of defense against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Regular security code reviews and automated static analysis tools should be employed to identify similar vulnerabilities across the entire codebase, while input validation should be implemented at multiple layers including client-side, server-side, and database-level filters. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of principle of least privilege and regular security updates, as many of these issues could be prevented through proper security development lifecycle practices and adherence to OWASP Top Ten security guidelines.