CVE-2026-19716 in Pentestify
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2026
Stored Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) in the user management component in maalfer Pentestify before 1.1.1 allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the browser of another authenticated user via a crafted username, because the frontend escapes the username with escapeHTML() before interpolating it into the onclick attribute of the account deletion button, but the browser HTML-decodes attribute values before the JavaScript engine parses the handler, allowing an encoded single quote (') to break out of the string literal and inject arbitrary JavaScript that executes when the victim clicks the delete button for that account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2026
This vulnerability represents a classic stored cross-site scripting flaw that exploits improper input sanitization in the user management component of maalfer Pentestify version 1.1.0 and earlier. The issue stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of how HTML attribute parsing works in web browsers, creating a dangerous gap between the frontend escaping mechanism and actual security enforcement. When an authenticated attacker crafts a malicious username containing encoded characters, specifically a properly escaped single quote, they can manipulate the application's behavior during account deletion operations. The vulnerability manifests because the frontend employs escapeHTML() function to sanitize user input before inserting it into the onclick attribute of delete buttons, but this approach fails to account for the browser's HTML-decoding process that occurs before JavaScript execution.
The technical exploitation mechanism relies on the browser's parsing sequence where attribute values undergo HTML-decoding before JavaScript engines parse the event handlers. This creates a scenario where encoded characters like ' (HTML entity for single quote) are decoded back to their literal form during attribute processing, allowing the attacker's payload to escape the intended string context. When a victim user clicks the delete button associated with the maliciously crafted username, the browser executes the injected JavaScript code within the onclick handler, effectively compromising the victim's session and potentially enabling further attacks. This vulnerability falls squarely under CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws that occur when untrusted data is embedded into web pages without proper validation or escaping.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, creating a persistent threat vector that can be leveraged for session hijacking, credential theft, and privilege escalation within the application's user context. An attacker who successfully compromises a victim through this vulnerability could potentially perform actions with the victim's privileges, including deleting other users' accounts, modifying user permissions, or accessing sensitive data. The authentication requirement means that attackers must first gain access to legitimate user credentials, but once achieved, the attack can be executed silently without additional authentication requirements. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning in security testing tools where users may have elevated privileges and access to critical system information.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding at multiple levels within the application architecture. The most effective approach involves applying context-aware escaping that considers the specific HTML context where data will be rendered, rather than relying solely on generic HTML escaping functions. Implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide additional defense-in-depth measures by restricting script execution within the application. Regular input sanitization should validate usernames against strict character sets and lengths while ensuring no potentially dangerous sequences are permitted. The fix should also include proper attribute encoding for all dynamic values inserted into HTML attributes, particularly event handlers, to prevent the sequence described in the vulnerability from being exploitable. Security teams should implement automated testing procedures that specifically target stored XSS scenarios during penetration testing and application security assessments.
This vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation details can create significant security weaknesses, highlighting the importance of understanding browser parsing behavior and proper security architecture design. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique for code injection within web application contexts, where attackers leverage insecure data handling to execute malicious payloads in victims' browsers. The remediation process should include comprehensive code reviews focusing on HTML attribute handling and input validation patterns, with particular attention to how user-provided data flows through the application's rendering pipeline. Organizations utilizing this tool should immediately implement the patch for version 1.1.1 or later while conducting thorough security assessments of similar components within their software ecosystems to prevent analogous vulnerabilities from being present in other applications.