CVE-2024-41805 in tracks
Summary
by MITRE • 07/26/2024
Tracks, a Getting Things Done (GTD) web application, is vulnerable to reflected cross-site scripting in versions prior to 2.7.1. Reflected cross-site scripting enables execution of malicious JavaScript in the context of a user’s browser if that user clicks on a malicious link, allowing phishing attacks that could lead to credential theft. Tracks version 2.7.1 is patched. No known complete workarounds are available.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/16/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-41805 affects Tracks, a popular web-based Getting Things Done application that helps users organize tasks and projects. This application serves as a productivity tool for individuals and teams, making it a potentially attractive target for attackers seeking to exploit web application vulnerabilities. The specific weakness lies in the application's handling of user input within HTTP response headers, creating a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that can be exploited by malicious actors to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of authenticated users' browsers. The vulnerability impacts all versions prior to 2.7.1, indicating that the development team has already addressed the issue in their latest release.
The technical flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied input that is reflected back to the user's browser without adequate security controls. This reflected XSS vulnerability occurs because the application does not implement proper input validation or output encoding mechanisms for parameters that are processed and returned in HTTP responses. When a user clicks on a maliciously crafted link containing script code, the browser executes this code within the context of the legitimate Tracks application, effectively bypassing the user's security boundaries. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users and perform actions with their privileges, including accessing sensitive data or modifying application settings.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, creating significant risks for users who may be tricked into clicking malicious links through phishing campaigns or social engineering attacks. An attacker could craft a link that, when clicked by an authenticated user, would steal session cookies, capture login credentials, or redirect the user to malicious sites designed to harvest additional sensitive information. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that the attack requires user interaction, but the ease with which such attacks can be constructed and deployed makes them particularly dangerous. The vulnerability could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, potentially compromising personal productivity data, project information, or business-critical task management systems.
Security practitioners should prioritize the immediate deployment of the patched version 2.7.1 to protect against this vulnerability, as no complete workarounds are available for affected versions. Organizations using Tracks should implement comprehensive monitoring for suspicious user behavior or unexpected access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic example of how web application security controls can be bypassed through insufficient input sanitization. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving initial access through malicious links and privilege escalation via session hijacking, demonstrating the importance of proper input validation and output encoding as core defensive measures against such attacks.