Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities are a common and serious web application security concern. When improperly sanitized, user input can be injected into web apps in such a manner that it can execute malicious scripts on a user's browser. In the scope of this vulnerability detailed under CVE-2023-41601, we will explore a critical security flaw in CSZ CMS v1.3.. Specifically, multiple XSS vulnerabilities exist in the install/index.php file.

Vulnerability Details

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-41601

CSZ CMS v1.3. is an open-source Content Management System (CMS) designed to create and manage websites and web applications. The affected file (install/index.php) is responsible for the configuration of the initial setup for the CSZ CMS database.

The Database Username and Database Host parameters in the affected file are vulnerable to multiple XSS attacks. This allows attackers to inject malicious payloads into these parameters and execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML.

The following code snippet from the install/index.php file demonstrates the vulnerability

// install/index.php
...
$db_username = $_POST['db_username'];
$db_host = $_POST['db_host'];
...
?>
...
<!-- Vulnerable HTML code -->
<p>Database Username: <?php echo $db_username; ?></p>
<p>Database Host: <?php echo $db_host; ?></p>
...

In the above code, the $db_username and $db_host variables receive input directly from the user without proper input sanitization. This allows an attacker to submit potentially dangerous payloads, enabling them to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML.

Exploit

To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker may inject a malicious payload into the Database Username or Database Host parameters. This can be accomplished through a crafted HTTP POST request, as demonstrated below:

POST /install/index.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target-site.com
Content-Type:asyncQuery

db_username=<script>alert('XSS Attack')</script>&db_host=localhost

In this example, the attacker injects a simple JavaScript code into the Database Username parameter. This code, when executed by the target user's browser, will display a pop-up alert with the message "XSS Attack".

Mitigation and Prevention

CSZ CMS has released version 1.3.1 to address these vulnerabilities. It is strongly recommended that users update to this latest version.

Additionally, web developers should always implement proper input validation and sanitize user input to prevent XSS vulnerabilities. One effective method is to use PHP's built-in htmlspecialchars() function, which encodes special characters (like < and >) into HTML entities.

$db_username_sanitized = htmlspecialchars($_POST['db_username'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
$db_host_sanitized = htmlspecialchars($_POST['db_host'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');

By employing this function in conjunction with proper input validation, web developers can ensure a higher level of security for their web applications and significantly reduce the risk of XSS vulnerabilities.

To learn more about the vulnerability and the affected software, please visit

- CSZ CMS GitHub Repository
- CSZ CMS Official Website
- CVE-2023-41601 NIST NVD

Timeline

Published on: 09/06/2023 20:15:07 UTC
Last modified on: 09/11/2023 18:03:19 UTC