CVE-2020-18468 in qdPM
Summary
by MITRE • 08/27/2021
Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in qdPM 9.1 in the Heading field found in the Login Page page under the General menu via a crafted website name by doing an authenticated POST HTTP request to /qdPM_9.1/index.php/configuration.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/01/2021
This cross site scripting vulnerability in qdPM 9.1 represents a critical security flaw that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into the application's login page through the Heading field parameter. The vulnerability specifically resides in the General menu configuration section where administrators can set the website name displayed on the login page. When an authenticated user submits a crafted POST request to the /qdPM_9.1/index.php/configuration endpoint with malicious script content in the Heading field, the application fails to properly sanitize or escape the input before rendering it on the web page. This oversight creates a persistent XSS vector that can be exploited to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of the victim's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or further privilege escalation within the application.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross site scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web page content without adequate sanitization or escaping mechanisms. The attack requires an authenticated user context, meaning that an attacker must first obtain valid credentials to exploit this vulnerability, which reduces the attack surface but does not eliminate the risk entirely. The vulnerability exists because the application does not implement proper input validation and output encoding for user-supplied content in administrative configuration fields. The specific endpoint /qdPM_9.1/index.php/configuration represents a privileged administrative interface where configuration changes are saved to the application's settings database, making this a high-value target for attackers seeking to compromise the application's integrity and user sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to establish persistent access to the application through session manipulation and credential harvesting. When an authenticated administrator modifies the website name field, the malicious payload becomes permanently stored in the application's configuration and will be executed every time the login page is rendered. This creates a stealthy attack vector that can remain undetected for extended periods while the attacker maintains access to sensitive administrative functions. The vulnerability also potentially enables privilege escalation attacks where an attacker could manipulate the application's behavior to gain elevated access rights or extract confidential data from the qdPM 9.1 application. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where qdPM might be used for project management and collaboration, as it could provide attackers with access to sensitive project information and user data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate implementation of proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms for all user-supplied content in administrative configuration sections. The application should employ strict validation of input parameters to prevent malicious payloads from being accepted, combined with comprehensive HTML escaping of all dynamic content before rendering in web pages. Security patches should be implemented to address the root cause by ensuring that the Heading field parameter is properly validated and sanitized during the POST request processing. Organizations should also implement regular security assessments and input validation testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit the impact of potential exploitation, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect anomalous behavior in administrative configuration changes. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for script execution and T1078 for valid accounts, as the attack requires legitimate administrative credentials to be effective while exploiting the application's trust in authenticated user input.