CVE-2020-19770 in Wuzhi
Summary
by MITRE • 12/21/2021
A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the system bulletin component of WUZHI CMS v4.1.0 allows attackers to steal the admin's cookie.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-19770 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the system bulletin component of WUZHI CMS version 4.1.0. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting weaknesses in web applications. The flaw exists in the way the CMS processes and renders user-supplied input within its bulletin system, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject persistent script code into web pages viewed by administrators.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to craft malicious input that gets stored within the CMS's bulletin system and subsequently executed in the context of an administrator's browser session. When an administrator views the affected bulletin content, the malicious script executes automatically, enabling the attacker to steal the administrator's session cookies. This cookie theft represents a severe privilege escalation vector since administrator cookies typically contain elevated permissions and access to the entire CMS administrative interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple cookie theft, as it provides attackers with unauthorized administrative access to the compromised CMS instance. This access enables full control over the website's content management system including the ability to modify or delete content, upload malicious files, alter user permissions, and potentially compromise the entire underlying web infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the CMS's input validation and output encoding mechanisms, specifically failing to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it within the administrative interface.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering attacks including the use of malicious content to gain access to systems. The attack vector typically involves crafting a malicious bulletin entry that, when viewed by an administrator, executes malicious JavaScript code to steal session cookies. The exploitation process requires minimal technical expertise and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for organizations using vulnerable versions of WUZHI CMS. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, output encoding, and proper session management practices to prevent unauthorized access through this vulnerability.
The remediation strategy should focus on upgrading to a patched version of WUZHI CMS where the input sanitization and output encoding have been properly implemented. Additionally, administrators should implement Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution, conduct regular security audits of CMS components, and establish proper input validation mechanisms that filter out potentially malicious content before it is stored in the database. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications to prevent XSS attacks that can lead to complete system compromise.