CVE-2024-40101
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into the '/search' page of Microweber CMS via the 'keywords' parameter. When a user visits a crafted search URL, the attacker's script executes in the victim's browser context. All Microweber installations version 2.0.15 and earlier with the search functionality enabled are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Microweber CMS
📦 What is this software?
Microweber by Microweber
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal session cookies, perform actions as authenticated users, redirect to malicious sites, or install malware on user systems.
Likely Case
Attackers typically steal session cookies to hijack admin accounts, deface websites, or redirect users to phishing pages.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the script payload would be rendered harmless as text rather than executed code.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability is simple to exploit by crafting URLs with malicious payloads in the 'keywords' parameter. Public disclosure includes proof-of-concept examples.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Versions after commit 0dede6886c6df3d1f31c4f4e3ba1ab4a336fbf79
Vendor Advisory: http://microweber.com
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update to the latest Microweber version. 2. Apply the specific commit 0dede6886c6df3d1f31c4f4e3ba1ab4a336fbf79 if using source. 3. Clear any caches. 4. Verify the fix by testing search functionality with XSS payloads.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rule
allBlock or sanitize requests containing script tags and JavaScript patterns in the 'keywords' parameter.
Disable Search Functionality
allTemporarily disable or restrict access to the '/search' endpoint until patching is complete.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent script execution from untrusted sources.
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with XSS protection rules to filter malicious requests.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test by accessing '/search?keywords=<script>alert('XSS')</script>' and checking if the script executes in the browser.Check Version:
Check the Microweber version in the admin panel or via the application's version file.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, test the same payload; it should be displayed as plain text without script execution.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- HTTP requests to '/search' with script tags or JavaScript patterns in query parameters
- Unusual search queries containing HTML/script elements
Network Indicators:
- HTTP GET requests with encoded script payloads in URL parameters
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" url="/search" AND (keywords="*<script>*" OR keywords="*javascript:*")