CVE-2023-3668 in froxlor
Summary
by MITRE • 07/14/2023
Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output in GitHub repository froxlor/froxlor prior to 2.0.21.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/08/2026
This vulnerability in the froxlor web hosting control panel affects versions prior to 2.0.21 and represents a critical security flaw related to improper output encoding and escaping. The issue stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize and encode data before rendering it in web interfaces, creating potential attack vectors for malicious actors to exploit. The vulnerability allows for cross-site scripting attacks where attackers can inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This flaw exists in the output handling mechanisms of the control panel's user interface components, particularly affecting areas where user-provided data is displayed without adequate sanitization. The improper encoding occurs at multiple points within the application's rendering pipeline, where input values are directly embedded into HTML output without proper HTML entity encoding or other protective measures. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a classic case of insufficient output escaping in web applications. Attackers could leverage this weakness to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or privilege escalation within the hosting environment. The impact extends beyond simple XSS as it could enable attackers to manipulate the control panel's functionality and potentially gain unauthorized access to hosting accounts. The vulnerability manifests when user input is processed and displayed in the web interface without proper sanitization, making it particularly dangerous in multi-tenant hosting environments where multiple customers share the same control panel instance. This flaw particularly affects the administrative interface where configuration data, user names, domain names, and other potentially malicious input is rendered without adequate protection. The issue represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security architecture, as it fails to implement proper output encoding mechanisms that should be applied to all data rendered in web contexts. Organizations using froxlor versions before 2.0.21 face significant risk of exploitation, particularly in environments where the control panel is exposed to untrusted users or where administrative access could be compromised. The vulnerability directly maps to attack techniques described in the attack tree under the web application attack patterns, where XSS serves as a foundational vector for more complex exploitation chains. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability requires immediate patching as it provides attackers with a straightforward method to compromise the hosting environment. The remediation involves implementing proper output encoding across all user-facing interfaces, ensuring that all dynamic content is properly escaped before being rendered in HTML contexts. This fix aligns with industry best practices outlined in OWASP's top ten security risks and should be prioritized in security maintenance schedules. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly in control panel software where administrative access and user data are at stake. Organizations should implement comprehensive security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing to identify similar encoding flaws in other applications. The fix requires careful attention to ensure that all data flows through proper encoding mechanisms while maintaining the application's functionality and user experience. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the ongoing need for security awareness in open source projects where patches may not be immediately applied by users, leaving systems exposed to known attack vectors.