CVE-2024-22220 in Terminalfour
Summary
by MITRE • 02/21/2024
An issue was discovered in Terminalfour 7.4 through 7.4.0004 QP3 and 8 through 8.3.19, and Formbank through 2.1.10-FINAL. Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting can occur, with resultant Admin Session Hijacking. The attack vectors are Form Builder and Form Preview.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2025
This vulnerability exists within Terminalfour content management system versions 7.4 through 7.4.0004 QP3 and 8 through 8.3.19, as well as Formbank versions through 2.1.10-FINAL. The flaw represents a critical security weakness that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts into the system through form builder and form preview functionalities. This stored cross-site scripting vulnerability enables attackers to execute arbitrary code within the context of any user's browser session, potentially leading to complete administrative control over the affected systems. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the form handling components of these applications, creating persistent attack vectors that remain active until the malicious content is removed from the database.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a specific attack pattern that aligns with CWE-79, which describes cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. Attackers can leverage the form builder interface to inject malicious javascript code that gets stored in the database and subsequently executed when other users view the form preview or interact with the form data. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over extended periods. The attack vector specifically targets the form management functionalities where user inputs are not properly sanitized before being rendered back to users, creating a classic server-side injection scenario.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution to include full administrative session hijacking capabilities. When authenticated administrators or other users interact with the compromised forms, their browser sessions can be hijacked, allowing attackers to perform actions with elevated privileges. This represents a significant escalation from typical XSS attacks, as the compromise can lead to complete system takeover and unauthorized access to sensitive data. The vulnerability affects not only the form management features but also potentially the entire administrative interface, as session tokens and authentication cookies can be stolen or manipulated through the XSS payload. This creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited by attackers with minimal technical expertise.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding controls across all form handling components, with particular attention to the form builder and preview functionalities. The recommended approach involves implementing strict sanitization of all user inputs before storage and ensuring proper HTML escaping when rendering form data back to users. Security controls should include content security policies to prevent script execution, input validation to reject suspicious characters and patterns, and regular security scanning of form components for potential injection points. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit the scope of potential exploitation, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect unusual form activity patterns. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of keeping CMS and form management systems updated with the latest security patches, as this issue is likely to be addressed in subsequent releases through proper input sanitization and validation mechanisms. This vulnerability directly maps to attack techniques described in the attack pattern framework where adversaries leverage web application weaknesses to establish persistent access and elevate privileges within target environments.