CVE-2023-3642 in Vacation Rental Website
Summary
by MITRE • 07/12/2023
A vulnerability was found in GZ Scripts Vacation Rental Website 1.8 and classified as problematic. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file /VacationRentalWebsite/property/8/ad-has-principes/ of the component HTTP POST Request Handler. The manipulation of the argument username/title/comment leads to cross site scripting. The attack may be launched remotely. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-233888.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2023
This vulnerability resides within the GZ Scripts Vacation Rental Website version 1.8, specifically targeting the HTTP POST request handler component located at /VacationRentalWebsite/property/8/ad-has-principes/. The flaw manifests as a cross-site scripting vulnerability that occurs when processing user input through the username, title, or comment parameters. The vulnerability represents a classic persistent XSS flaw that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The attack vector is remotely exploitable, meaning an adversary can trigger the vulnerability without requiring physical access to the target system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the web application's request handling mechanism. When the application processes POST requests containing user-supplied data through the specified parameters, it fails to properly escape or encode special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. This insufficient sanitization creates an opening for malicious actors to inject script payloads that execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a failure to sanitize user input, which is a fundamental weakness in web application security architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or even deface the website content. An attacker could craft malicious payloads that exploit the vulnerability by submitting specially formatted data through the username, title, or comment fields, which would then be stored and executed whenever other users view the affected content. This creates a persistent threat that can affect multiple users over time, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous for a website that handles user-generated content such as vacation rental listings and reviews.
Security practitioners should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation strategy includes implementing strict sanitization of all user inputs, particularly those that are rendered in web pages without proper HTML escaping. Organizations should deploy Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and implement proper input validation frameworks that reject or sanitize potentially dangerous characters. Additionally, regular security testing including automated vulnerability scanning and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in the application's codebase. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566 as a credential access technique that leverages web application vulnerabilities, while the CWE classification of CWE-79 emphasizes the need for proper input validation and output encoding as core defensive measures.