Source: cve@mitre.org
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the export function in zp-core/zp-extensions/mergedRSS.php in Zenphoto before 1.4.5.4 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the URI.
Zenphoto versions prior to 1.4.5.4 are vulnerable to a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into the website, potentially leading to account compromise, data theft, or website defacement.
Step 1: Payload Delivery: The attacker crafts a malicious URL containing a specially crafted payload within the URI. This payload includes HTML or JavaScript code designed to execute in the victim's browser.
Step 2: Request Submission: The attacker tricks a victim into clicking the malicious URL, or the attacker uses the URL in a phishing campaign.
Step 3: Server Processing: The Zenphoto server receives the request and processes the mergedRSS.php file, specifically the export function.
Step 4: Vulnerable Code Execution: The vulnerable code within mergedRSS.php retrieves the malicious payload from the URI.
Step 5: Unsanitized Output: The code fails to sanitize or encode the payload before including it in the generated RSS feed.
Step 6: Browser Rendering: The victim's browser receives the RSS feed containing the malicious payload.
Step 7: Payload Execution: The browser renders the RSS feed, executing the injected HTML or JavaScript code in the context of the victim's session.
The vulnerability lies within the mergedRSS.php file's export function. The code fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input from the URI before incorporating it into the generated RSS feed. Specifically, the application does not validate or encode the input, allowing attackers to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code. The root cause is a lack of input validation and output encoding for data passed through the URI, leading to reflected XSS. The application trusts the user-supplied data without proper sanitization, resulting in the execution of arbitrary code in the context of the victim's browser.
While no specific APTs are directly linked to this CVE, XSS vulnerabilities are commonly exploited by various threat actors for initial access, credential harvesting, and data exfiltration. Not listed in CISA KEV.
Web server logs: Look for unusual requests to mergedRSS.php with suspicious parameters in the URI, such as those containing <script>, <iframe>, or other HTML tags.
Network traffic analysis: Monitor for HTTP requests containing XSS payloads in the URI. Use a web application firewall (WAF) to detect and block malicious requests.
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Configure IDS rules to detect XSS attempts based on common attack patterns.
Content Security Policy (CSP) violations: Monitor for CSP violations, which may indicate XSS attempts.
Upgrade to Zenphoto version 1.4.5.4 or later.
Implement input validation: Sanitize all user-supplied input, especially from the URI, to remove or encode potentially malicious characters.
Implement output encoding: Encode all output to prevent the browser from interpreting user-supplied data as HTML or JavaScript.
Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF to detect and block XSS attacks.
Implement Content Security Policy (CSP): Configure CSP to restrict the sources from which the browser can load resources, mitigating the impact of successful XSS attacks.
Regularly scan the website for vulnerabilities using a web vulnerability scanner.