CVE-2018-9123 in Crea8Social
Summary
by MITRE
In Crea8social 2018.2, there is Stored Cross-Site Scripting via a User Profile.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/18/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2018-9123 represents a stored cross-site scripting flaw in Crea8social version 2018.2 that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into user profiles, which then execute in the context of other users' browsers. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and specifically manifests as a stored XSS attack where malicious code persists in the application's database and executes whenever affected pages are loaded. The flaw occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user input during profile creation or modification processes, permitting attackers to embed script tags or other malicious code within profile fields.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to gain access to a user account or find a way to inject malicious content through legitimate user profile update mechanisms. Once the malicious script is stored in the database, it becomes persistent and will execute automatically when other users view the compromised profile page. The attack vector typically involves embedding javascript code within profile fields such as bio descriptions, location fields, or other editable text areas that are rendered without proper output encoding. This creates a dangerous scenario where any user who visits the affected profile page becomes a victim of the stored script execution, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-9123 extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including stealing session cookies, performing actions on behalf of users, redirecting users to phishing sites, or even installing malware through browser-based attacks. The persistence of stored XSS makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as the malicious code remains active until manually removed from the database, potentially affecting thousands of users over extended periods. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to complete compromise of user accounts and potential lateral movement within the application's user base.
Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent this class of vulnerability from occurring in the first place. The recommended mitigations include implementing proper HTML escaping for all user-generated content before rendering it on web pages, employing Content Security Policy headers to restrict script execution, and conducting regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing. Additionally, the application should enforce strict validation rules for all profile fields and implement proper sanitization of user input to prevent script injection attempts. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and demonstrates the importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies that include both server-side input validation and client-side security measures to prevent cross-site scripting attacks.