CVE-2018-6550 in Monstra
Summary
by MITRE
Monstra CMS through 3.0.4 has XSS in the title function in plugins/box/pages/pages.plugin.php via a page title to admin/index.php.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/03/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2018-6550 represents a cross-site scripting flaw discovered in Monstra CMS versions up to 3.0.4, specifically within the page management functionality. This issue resides in the plugins/box/pages/pages.plugin.php file where the title function fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it in the administrative interface. The vulnerability manifests when an attacker crafts a malicious page title containing script tags or other malicious code that gets executed in the context of other users' browsers who view the affected administrative page. The attack vector specifically targets the admin/index.php endpoint, making it particularly dangerous as it directly impacts the content management system's administrative interface where privileged users operate.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a classic XSS pattern where user-controllable input flows directly into the HTML output without proper sanitization or encoding. The flaw can be categorized as CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a fundamental web application security weakness. When an administrator or authenticated user loads the page listing containing the malicious title, the embedded scripts execute in their browser context, potentially allowing attackers to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of users, or redirect them to malicious sites. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates within the administrative interface where users have elevated privileges, making it a potential stepping stone for more severe attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to the CMS administration panel. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.001 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell and T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution, as attackers can leverage the XSS to execute malicious commands through the compromised administrative session. The attack could result in complete compromise of the CMS, data exfiltration, defacement of web content, or establishment of persistent backdoors. Additionally, the vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the system as attackers can manipulate page content and potentially disrupt normal administrative operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-6550 should focus on immediate patching of the Monstra CMS to version 3.0.5 or later where the vulnerability has been addressed. Organizations should implement input validation and output encoding measures to prevent similar issues in other parts of their applications. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by ensuring that administrative interfaces are protected with strong authentication mechanisms and that users only have access to necessary functions. Regular security audits and automated vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar input validation flaws. Additionally, implementing content security policies and using proper HTML escaping techniques in all user-facing inputs can prevent the exploitation of such vulnerabilities. The fix typically involves sanitizing user input before rendering it in HTML contexts, which aligns with security best practices recommended by OWASP and other industry standards for preventing XSS attacks.