CVE-2021-41929 in Electric Billing Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 01/24/2022
Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in Sourcecodester The Electric Billing Management System 1.0 by oretnom23, allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via the about page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/28/2022
The vulnerability CVE-2021-41929 represents a cross site scripting flaw identified in The Electric Billing Management System version 1.0 developed by oretnom23. This particular XSS vulnerability manifests specifically within the application's about page functionality, creating a significant security risk for users interacting with the system. The flaw allows malicious actors to inject and execute arbitrary code through web requests, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the affected application's environment.
This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the about page component of the billing management system. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in the web interface, creating an opening for attackers to embed malicious scripts that can execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a failure to sanitize user input, which directly enables XSS attacks by allowing malicious code execution. The specific nature of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001, which involves executing code through web shells or script injection methods.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, potentially enabling attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive user credentials, or redirect victims to malicious websites. Given that the vulnerability exists in a billing management system, the consequences could be particularly severe as attackers might gain access to financial data, customer information, and billing records. The attack surface is relatively limited to the about page functionality, but this targeted approach allows for precise exploitation that could be used to establish persistent access or conduct more sophisticated attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application. The system must sanitize all user inputs before processing and rendering them in web responses, utilizing proper context-specific escaping for html, javascript, and other potentially dangerous contexts. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and employ regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing. The remediation process should include comprehensive code review to identify and address similar vulnerabilities in other application components, ensuring that all user-supplied data undergoes proper validation before being integrated into the system's output. Additionally, maintaining updated security libraries and frameworks can help prevent similar issues from arising in future development cycles.