CVE-2020-5574 in Movable Type
Summary
by MITRE
HTML attribute value injection vulnerability in Movable Type series (Movable Type 7 r.4606 (7.2.1) and earlier (Movable Type 7), Movable Type Advanced 7 r.4606 (7.2.1) and earlier (Movable Type Advanced 7), Movable Type for AWS 7 r.4606 (7.2.1) and earlier (Movable Type for AWS 7), Movable Type 6.5.3 and earlier (Movable Type 6.5), Movable Type Advanced 6.5.3 and earlier (Movable Type Advanced 6.5), Movable Type 6.3.11 and earlier (Movable Type 6.3), Movable Type Advanced 6.3.11 and earlier (Movable Type 6.3), Movable Type Premium 1.29 and earlier, and Movable Type Premium Advanced 1.29 and earlier) allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML attribute value via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2020
The CVE-2020-5574 vulnerability represents a critical HTML attribute value injection flaw affecting multiple versions of Movable Type content management systems including various editions from versions 6.3 through 7.2.1. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and specifically targets the improper handling of user-supplied input within HTML attribute contexts. The vulnerability exists in the core processing logic that handles attribute values in HTML generation, allowing attackers to inject malicious HTML attributes that can be executed in the context of a victim's browser. The affected systems include Movable Type 7 r.4606 (7.2.1) and earlier versions, Movable Type Advanced 7 r.4606 (7.2.1) and earlier, Movable Type for AWS 7 r.4606 (7.2.1) and earlier, Movable Type 6.5.3 and earlier, Movable Type Advanced 6.5.3 and earlier, Movable Type 6.3.11 and earlier, Movable Type Advanced 6.3.11 and earlier, Movable Type Premium 1.29 and earlier, and Movable Type Premium Advanced 1.29 and earlier.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize or escape user-provided input before incorporating it into HTML attribute values. Attackers can leverage this weakness by submitting malicious input through various application interfaces such as form fields, API endpoints, or comment systems where user content is processed and rendered back to users. The injection typically occurs in contexts where HTML attributes like href, src, onclick, or other event handlers are dynamically populated with user data without proper validation or encoding. This allows for the injection of malicious JavaScript code or HTML attributes that can trigger unauthorized actions when the content is rendered in a victim's browser. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through multiple attack vectors and can lead to session hijacking, data theft, or redirection to malicious sites.
The operational impact of CVE-2020-5574 extends beyond simple XSS attacks as it can enable more sophisticated exploitation patterns including privilege escalation and persistent attack vectors. When successfully exploited, this vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject malicious code that executes in the context of authenticated users, potentially leading to complete account compromise. The vulnerability affects the core rendering engine of the content management system, meaning that any user content that gets processed and displayed could become a vector for attack. Attackers can craft payloads that leverage the HTML attribute injection to create persistent XSS attacks that remain active even after page refreshes, as the malicious code gets stored in the application's database and re-executed during content rendering. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, and T1566 for Phishing, as it enables attackers to deliver malicious JavaScript payloads that can harvest user credentials or perform unauthorized actions.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including input validation, output encoding, and proper sanitization of all user-supplied content. The primary mitigation involves implementing strict validation rules for all HTML attribute values and ensuring that user input is properly escaped before being incorporated into HTML contexts. This includes implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent execution of unauthorized scripts and using proper HTML encoding functions for all dynamic attribute values. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that can detect and block suspicious attribute injection patterns. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security updates and patch management, as the affected versions of Movable Type have received updates that address this specific flaw. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their web applications to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components and ensure that proper security controls are in place to prevent similar injection attacks across their entire digital infrastructure.