CVE-2021-41731 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Sourcecodester News247 News Magazine (CMS) PHP 5.6 or higher and MySQL 5.7 or higher via blog category name field.

Understanding CVE-2021-41731

What is CVE-2021-41731?

Sourcecodester News247 News Magazine (CMS) is affected by a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that allows attackers to exploit the blog category name field.

The Impact of CVE-2021-41731

This vulnerability can be exploited by malicious actors to execute scripts in the context of an unsuspecting user's browser, potentially leading to account hijacking, data theft, or defacement of websites.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-41731

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability exists in the blog category name field of the Sourcecodester News247 News Magazine (CMS) PHP version 5.6 or higher and MySQL version 5.7 or higher, allowing attackers to inject and execute malicious scripts.

Affected Systems and Versions

Sourcecodester News247 News Magazine (CMS) PHP 5.6 or higher
MySQL 5.7 or higher

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious scripts into the blog category name field, which will be executed in the context of the user's browser upon viewing the affected page.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Sourcecodester News247 News Magazine (CMS) to a patched version that addresses the XSS vulnerability.
Avoid inputting untrusted data in the blog category name field.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and audit for any unusual activities on the CMS.
Implement input validation and output encoding to prevent XSS attacks.

Patching and Updates

Apply the latest security patches and updates provided by Sourcecodester to address the vulnerability.