Source: cve@mitre.org
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in OpenBiblio 0.5.2-pre4 and earlier allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) LAST and (2) FIRST parameters to admin/staff_del_confirm.php, (3) the name parameter to admin/theme_del_confirm.php, or (4) the themeName parameter to admin/theme_preview.php.
OpenBiblio 0.5.2-pre4 and earlier versions are vulnerable to multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. Attackers can inject malicious scripts into the web application, potentially leading to account compromise, data theft, and website defacement by exploiting unsanitized input parameters.
Step 1: Identify Vulnerable Parameter: The attacker identifies the vulnerable parameters: LAST, FIRST in admin/staff_del_confirm.php, name in admin/theme_del_confirm.php, or themeName in admin/theme_preview.php.
Step 2: Craft Malicious Payload: The attacker crafts a malicious JavaScript payload, such as <script>alert('XSS')</script>, designed to execute in the victim's browser.
Step 3: Inject Payload: The attacker injects the payload into the vulnerable parameter via a crafted URL, e.g., admin/staff_del_confirm.php?LAST=<script>alert('XSS')</script>.
Step 4: Victim Interaction: A user (administrator or other privileged user) accesses the crafted URL, either directly or through a phishing attack.
Step 5: Payload Execution: The victim's browser renders the page, executing the injected JavaScript payload because the input wasn't properly sanitized. This could lead to session hijacking, redirection to malicious sites, or other attacks.
The vulnerability stems from a failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before displaying it on web pages. Specifically, the application directly incorporates values from parameters like LAST, FIRST, name, and themeName into the HTML output without any encoding or filtering. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code, which is then executed by the victim's browser. The root cause is a lack of input validation and output encoding, a common security flaw in web applications.
While no specific APTs are directly linked to this CVE, the ease of exploitation makes it attractive to a wide range of attackers, including script kiddies and opportunistic attackers. The age of the vulnerability and the availability of PoCs increase the risk of exploitation. Not listed on CISA KEV.
Web server logs analysis: Look for unusual URL patterns containing script tags or HTML entities in the vulnerable parameters (LAST, FIRST, name, themeName).
Intrusion Detection System (IDS) / Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) signatures: Deploy signatures to detect XSS attempts, specifically targeting the vulnerable parameters and common XSS payloads.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) monitoring: Monitor WAF logs for blocked XSS attacks targeting the vulnerable endpoints.
Network traffic analysis: Examine HTTP requests for suspicious payloads in the URL parameters, especially those containing <script>, <iframe>, or other HTML tags.
Upgrade to a patched version of OpenBiblio or a version that addresses the XSS vulnerabilities. If upgrading is not possible, apply the following mitigations.
Implement input validation: Sanitize all user-supplied input to ensure that it does not contain malicious code. Use a whitelist approach, allowing only expected characters and formats.
Implement output encoding: Encode all output to prevent the browser from interpreting user-supplied data as HTML or JavaScript. Use appropriate encoding functions for the context (e.g., HTML entity encoding for HTML output, JavaScript encoding for JavaScript output).
Use a Content Security Policy (CSP): Implement a CSP to restrict the sources from which the browser can load resources, mitigating the impact of successful XSS attacks.
Regularly scan the application for vulnerabilities using static and dynamic analysis tools.
Review and harden web server configuration to minimize attack surface.