Overview
CVE-2024-46334 details a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability found in Kashipara School Management System version 1.0. This vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into the application through the formuser and formpassword parameters in the /adminLogin.php file. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to account hijacking, data theft, and other malicious activities.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides in the /adminLogin.php script, specifically in how user input from the formuser and formpassword parameters is handled. The application fails to properly sanitize or encode this input before displaying it in the application’s context. This allows an attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript code by crafting a malicious URL or form submission that includes the malicious script within these parameters.
For example, an attacker might craft a URL like this:
/adminLogin.php?formuser=<script>alert('XSS Vulnerability!')</script>&formpassword=passwordWhen a user visits this URL (or a similar crafted form), the injected JavaScript code will be executed in their browser, potentially allowing the attacker to perform actions on their behalf.
CVSS Analysis
This vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 6.1, indicating a MEDIUM severity. The CVSS vector string provides more detail:
CVSS Score: 6.1 (Medium)
While a full CVSS vector string was not provided in the prompt, typical XSS vulnerabilities achieve a medium score if they require user interaction.
This score highlights the potential impact of the vulnerability and underscores the importance of implementing appropriate mitigation strategies.
Possible Impact
Exploitation of this XSS vulnerability could have significant consequences, including:
- Account Hijacking: An attacker could steal a user’s session cookie and gain unauthorized access to their account, including administrative accounts.
- Data Theft: The attacker could steal sensitive information, such as user credentials, personal data, or financial information.
- Malware Distribution: The attacker could inject malicious code to redirect users to phishing sites or distribute malware.
- Defacement: The attacker could modify the appearance of the website, potentially damaging the organization’s reputation.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
To mitigate this vulnerability, the following steps should be taken:
- Input Validation: Implement strict input validation on the server-side to ensure that user input conforms to expected formats and does not contain malicious characters or code.
- Output Encoding: Properly encode all user-supplied data before displaying it in the application’s context. Use appropriate encoding functions (e.g., HTML entity encoding) to prevent the browser from interpreting the data as executable code.
- Parameterization/Prepared Statements: Use parameterized queries or prepared statements when interacting with the database to prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities, which can be used in conjunction with XSS attacks.
- Content Security Policy (CSP): Implement a strong Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict the sources from which the browser can load resources, reducing the impact of XSS attacks.
- Update to the latest version: Check the Kashipara website for any available updates or patches. Upgrade to the latest version of the School Management System, which may include a fix for this vulnerability. If a patch is not available, implement the above mitigation steps as a temporary workaround.
