Source: cna@vuldb.com
A vulnerability was found in PHPGurukul Land Record System 1.0. It has been classified as problematic. This affects an unknown part of the file /admin/aboutus.php. The manipulation of the argument Page Description leads to cross site scripting. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used.
PHPGurukul Land Record System 1.0 suffers from a critical Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This flaw allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into the application via the /admin/aboutus.php page, potentially leading to account compromise and data theft. The vulnerability is easily exploitable remotely and a public exploit is available.
Step 1: Payload Delivery: An attacker crafts a malicious JavaScript payload designed to execute within the victim's browser. This payload could be designed to steal cookies, redirect the user to a phishing site, or perform other malicious actions.
Step 2: Payload Injection: The attacker submits the crafted payload as the 'Page Description' value within the /admin/aboutus.php page, typically through a POST request.
Step 3: Data Storage: The vulnerable application stores the malicious payload in its database or other persistent storage associated with the 'Page Description' field.
Step 4: Payload Rendering: When an administrator or other user views the 'About Us' page, the application retrieves the stored 'Page Description' from the database.
Step 5: Script Execution: The application renders the 'Page Description' on the page without proper sanitization. The attacker's JavaScript payload is executed within the user's browser, leading to the exploitation of the XSS vulnerability.
The vulnerability stems from a lack of proper input validation and output encoding within the /admin/aboutus.php file. Specifically, the application fails to sanitize user-supplied input provided through the 'Page Description' field before rendering it in the HTML response. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code. The root cause is a missing or inadequate implementation of input validation and output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) on the user-supplied input. The application trusts the user-provided data without sanitizing it, leading to the execution of malicious scripts within the context of the vulnerable website.
While no specific APTs are directly linked in the provided information, the ease of exploitation and public availability of the exploit make this a high-priority target for opportunistic attackers. This vulnerability could be leveraged by various threat actors, including those seeking to steal credentials, deface websites, or conduct phishing campaigns. CISA KEV status is likely to be considered due to the public exploit and ease of exploitation.
Network Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can be configured to detect malicious JavaScript payloads in HTTP requests and responses, specifically targeting the /admin/aboutus.php endpoint.
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) can be deployed to filter out malicious XSS payloads before they reach the application.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems can be configured to monitor web server logs for suspicious activity, such as unusual POST requests to /admin/aboutus.php with potentially malicious content in the 'Page Description' field.
Analyze web server access logs for requests to /admin/aboutus.php with unusual or suspicious parameters, especially those containing HTML tags or JavaScript code.
Implement content security policies (CSP) to restrict the sources from which the browser can load resources, mitigating the impact of successful XSS attacks.
Implement robust input validation to sanitize all user-supplied input, especially the 'Page Description' field. This includes filtering out or escaping potentially dangerous characters (e.g., <, >, &, ', ").
Implement output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) to ensure that user-supplied data is properly encoded before being rendered in the HTML response. This prevents the browser from interpreting the data as executable code.
Upgrade to a patched version of PHPGurukul Land Record System that addresses the vulnerability. If no patch is available, consider the following mitigation steps.
Apply a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter malicious requests.
Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict the execution of inline scripts and the loading of resources from untrusted sources.
Review and harden the web server configuration to minimize attack surface.
Regularly scan the application for vulnerabilities using automated tools and manual penetration testing.