CVE-2020-6583 in Online Invoicing System
Summary
by MITRE
BigProf Online Invoicing System (OIS) through 2.6 has XSS that can be leveraged for session hijacking. An attacker can exploit the XSS vulnerability, retrieve the session cookie from the administrator login, and take over the administrator account via the Name field in an Add New Client action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2024
The CVE-2020-6583 vulnerability affects BigProf Online Invoicing System version 2.6 and earlier, representing a critical cross-site scripting flaw that enables unauthorized account takeover. This vulnerability resides within the system's client management functionality, specifically in the Name field of the Add New Client action, where insufficient input validation allows malicious script execution. The flaw constitutes a direct violation of web application security principles and aligns with CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting, which categorizes improper input validation as a primary root cause for such vulnerabilities.
The technical exploitation pathway involves an attacker crafting malicious input containing javascript code within the Name field during client addition. When the administrator views this malicious entry, the stored script executes in their browser context, allowing the attacker to extract the administrator session cookie through document.cookie access. This session hijacking capability directly compromises the authentication mechanism and provides full administrative privileges over the invoicing system. The vulnerability demonstrates poor output encoding practices and inadequate sanitization of user-controllable data, creating a persistent threat vector that can be exploited by attackers with minimal technical expertise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables comprehensive system compromise through session takeover. An attacker with access to the vulnerable system can perform any administrative action including user management, financial data modification, system configuration changes, and potential data exfiltration. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1548.002 for Account Manipulation and T1566.001 for Spearphishing Attachment, as it allows for unauthorized administrative access through malicious input injection. The attack requires no privileged access initially, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone with the ability to add clients to the system.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-6583 must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements. The primary solution involves implementing proper input validation and output encoding across all user-controllable fields, particularly those used for display purposes. The system should employ context-specific escaping mechanisms for html, javascript, and other potentially dangerous content, aligning with OWASP recommendations for XSS prevention. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers, using secure session management practices, and enforcing proper access controls can significantly reduce the attack surface. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other system components. The fix should also include implementing proper input length restrictions and character set validation to prevent exploitation through malformed inputs.