CVE-2018-9120 in Crea8Social
Summary
by MITRE
In Crea8social 2018.2, there is Stored Cross-Site Scripting via a post.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/29/2018
The vulnerability CVE-2018-9120 represents a stored cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the Crea8social platform version 2018.2, specifically within the post creation and handling functionality. This issue allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that persist in the application's database and execute whenever users view the affected posts. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within the platform's content management system, where user-generated content is not properly filtered or escaped before being stored and subsequently rendered to other users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability follows the typical stored XSS pattern where malicious payloads are submitted through the application's user interface and stored in the backend database. When other users access the affected content, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers within the context of the vulnerable application. This creates a persistent threat that can affect multiple users over time, unlike reflected XSS attacks that require specific user interaction. The flaw likely occurs in the post creation endpoint where input fields are not adequately sanitized before database storage, allowing script tags or other malicious code to be preserved and executed during content rendering.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to both user privacy and application integrity. Attackers can exploit this flaw to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, redirect victims to malicious sites, or harvest sensitive information from authenticated sessions. The persistent nature of stored XSS means that once the malicious content is injected, it continues to affect users until the content is manually removed or the vulnerability is patched. This creates a sustained threat vector that can be leveraged for phishing attacks, credential theft, or data exfiltration campaigns.
The vulnerability maps to CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious content. Organizations using Crea8social 2018.2 should implement immediate mitigations including comprehensive input validation, output encoding, and Content Security Policy implementation. The platform should sanitize all user inputs before storage, escape all dynamic content during rendering, and implement proper access controls to prevent unauthorized content injection. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components, while user education about suspicious content can provide additional defense layers. The fix requires addressing the root cause in the application's data handling pipeline rather than merely patching the symptom, ensuring that all user-generated content undergoes proper sanitization before database persistence.