CVE-2023-5697 in Internet Banking System
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in CodeAstro Internet Banking System 1.0. This affects an unknown part of the file pages_withdraw_money.php. The manipulation of the argument account_number with the input 287359614-->alert(1234)
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2023
This vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the CodeAstro Internet Banking System version 1.0, specifically affecting the pages_withdraw_money.php component. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly process user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamic web content. When an attacker submits the malicious payload 287359614-->alert(1234) as the account_number parameter, the system directly reflects this input without proper escaping or encoding, creating an exploitable XSS vector. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as weaknesses in web applications that allow attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The attack leverages the standard JavaScript alert function to demonstrate execution of arbitrary code, though in a real-world scenario attackers could employ more sophisticated payloads including session hijacking scripts or redirecting users to malicious domains.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the banking system's user interface. An attacker could potentially exploit this flaw to steal user sessions, manipulate account information, or redirect victims to fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate banking interfaces. This represents a significant threat to the system's security posture and could lead to financial losses, data breaches, and regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where input validation occurs too late in the processing chain or not at all, allowing malicious data to traverse multiple layers of the application before reaching the output rendering stage. According to ATT&CK framework technique T1566, this vulnerability enables initial access through malicious input delivery methods that can be exploited to establish persistent access or escalate privileges within the banking environment.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application lifecycle. The system requires immediate implementation of proper HTML entity encoding for all user-supplied inputs before rendering them in web pages, specifically targeting the account_number parameter in pages_withdraw_money.php. Additionally, the application should employ Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution sources and implement proper input sanitization routines that reject or escape potentially malicious characters. Security headers including X-Content-Type-Options and X-Frame-Options should be configured to prevent MIME type sniffing and clickjacking attacks. The system should also implement proper session management with secure cookie attributes and consider implementing a Web Application Firewall to detect and block suspicious input patterns. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the entire codebase, with particular attention to all PHP files that handle user inputs and generate dynamic content.