CVE-2024-44655
📋 TL;DR
PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0 contains a cross-site scripting vulnerability in the search parameter of user-search.php. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in users' browsers when they visit the vulnerable page. Organizations using this specific version of the complaint management system are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PHPGurukul Complaint Management System
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, or deface the application interface.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious scripts to steal session cookies or credentials from authenticated users, potentially leading to account compromise.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the malicious scripts would be neutralized before reaching users' browsers.
🎯 Exploit Status
XSS vulnerabilities are commonly weaponized in automated attack tools and require minimal technical skill to exploit.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://phpgurukul.com/complaint-management-sytem
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check vendor website for updated version. 2. If available, download and install the patched version. 3. Replace vulnerable files with patched versions. 4. Test functionality after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation and Output Encoding
allImplement proper input validation and output encoding in user-search.php to sanitize the search parameter.
Edit user-search.php to add htmlspecialchars() or similar sanitization functions around the search parameter output
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
allDeploy a WAF with XSS protection rules to block malicious payloads.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
- Disable or restrict access to user-search.php if not essential
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test by injecting a simple XSS payload like <script>alert('XSS')</script> into the search parameter of user-search.php and check if it executes.Check Version:
Check the software version in the application interface or configuration files.Verify Fix Applied:
After applying fixes, test with the same XSS payload to ensure it's properly sanitized and doesn't execute.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual search queries containing script tags or JavaScript code in web server logs
- Multiple failed XSS attempts in application logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to user-search.php with suspicious parameters containing script tags or encoded payloads
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND uri="*user-search.php*" AND (param="*<script>*" OR param="*javascript:*")