CVE-2026-107264 in Inline Formatter Field Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/30/2026
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine vulnerability in Drupal Inline Formatter Field allows Code Injection. This issue affects Inline Formatter Field versions: from 0.0.0 to 4.2.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2026
The vulnerability identified as Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine represents a critical security flaw within the Drupal Inline Formatter Field module, specifically affecting version ranges from 0.0.0 through 4.2.0. This class of vulnerability is fundamentally rooted in CWE-94, commonly known as Code Injection via Uncontrolled Generation of Code or Scripts. In the context of web application development and content management systems like Drupal, template engines are designed to separate logic from presentation by allowing developers to define how data should be rendered on a webpage. However, when these engines fail to properly sanitize user-supplied input before passing it to the rendering layer, they create an avenue for attackers to inject malicious code that executes within the server-side context or in the client's browser, depending on where the template is processed.
The technical mechanism of this flaw involves the Inline Formatter Field module failing to adequately escape or validate special characters and control sequences present in user-provided data before it is interpolated into a template string. When an attacker submits crafted input containing malicious script tags, server-side include directives, or other executable payloads, the vulnerable version of the module processes these inputs without sufficient filtering. This lack of neutralization allows the injected elements to be interpreted as active code rather than static text. Consequently, if the vulnerability occurs in a client-side template rendering context, it facilitates Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), allowing attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the browsers of users viewing the affected content. If the processing happens on the server side prior to output, it can lead to Server-Side Code Injection, which is significantly more severe as it grants potential remote code execution capabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial for any organization running an unpatched instance of Drupal with the Inline Formatter Field module installed within the specified version range. In a client-side scenario, attackers can steal session cookies, hijack user sessions, deface websites, or redirect users to malicious phishing sites. This undermines the integrity and confidentiality of the web application's data and erodes trust among end-users. In a server-side execution scenario, the consequences are even more dire. An attacker could potentially execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system, leading to full compromise of the Drupal installation, unauthorized access to sensitive databases, or using the compromised server as a pivot point for further attacks against internal network resources. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059, Command and Scripting Interpreter, particularly sub-techniques related to JavaScript or PHP execution depending on the specific implementation details of the template engine involved.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate remediation through software updates. Administrators should upgrade the Inline Formatter Field module to a version later than 4.2.0, where this improper neutralization issue has been addressed by developers implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Until an update is applied, temporary mitigations may include restricting access to administrative interfaces that utilize the vulnerable field formatter or disabling the specific functionality if it is not essential for operations. Furthermore, deploying a Web Application Firewall can provide a layer of defense by filtering out requests containing known malicious patterns associated with code injection and template exploitation. Long-term security posture improvements should involve adopting secure coding practices such as strict type checking, using whitelists for allowed input characters, and ensuring that all dynamic content is properly encoded before being passed to any templating engine to prevent the interpretation of special elements as executable commands.