Fix XSS vulnerability by escaping user input with htmlspecialchars in PHP.

[zeropath-ai-dev]

Summary

• The Vulnerability Description:
  An XSS vulnerability was found in index.php where user-supplied input ($_GET["test"]) is directly output in HTML without proper sanitization. This could allow attackers to inject malicious scripts into the application, posing security risks such as data theft or unauthorized actions in user sessions.

• This Fix:
  The patch addresses the XSS vulnerability by applying htmlspecialchars() to escape special characters in user input ($_GET["test"]). This ensures that malicious JavaScript or HTML tags are safely converted to harmless encoded entities before being rendered in the browser.

• The Cause of the Issue:
  The issue occurred because user-supplied input was output directly into the HTML without any escaping or validation. Specifically, the lack of encoding allowed special characters (e.g., <, >) to be interpreted as part of the HTML structure rather than plain text.

• The Patch Implementation:
  Replaced the direct echo statement with htmlspecialchars($_GET["test"], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8') in index.php. This function escapes <, >, ", and ' while ensuring UTF-8 encoding, making the output safe for display in the browser.

Vulnerability Details

• Vulnerability Class: Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
• Severity: 7.0
• Affected File: test/index.php
• Vulnerable Lines: 18-21

Code Snippets

diff --git a/test/index.php b/test/index.php
index cd00388..f6293fb 100644
--- a/test/index.php
+++ b/test/index.php
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <?php
 
-echo $_GET["test"];
+echo htmlspecialchars($_GET["test"], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
 
 ?>

How to Modify the Patch

You can modify this patch by using one of the two methods outlined below. We recommend using the @zeropath-ai-dev bot for updating the code. If you encounter any bugs or issues with the patch, please report them here.

Ask @zeropath-ai-dev!

To request modifications, please post a comment beginning with @zeropath-ai-dev and specify the changes required.

@zeropath-ai-dev will then implement the requested adjustments and commit them to the specified branch in this pull request. Our bot is capable of managing changes across multiple files and various development-related requests.

Manually Modify the Files

# Checkout created branch:
git checkout zvuln_fix_cross_site_scripting_xss_1743994547751331

# if vscode is installed run (or use your favorite editor / IDE):
code test/index.php

# Add, commit, and push changes:
git add -A
git commit -m "Update generated patch with x, y, and z changes."
git push zvuln_fix_cross_site_scripting_xss_1743994547751331

[zeropath-ai-dev]

❌ Possible security or compliance issues detected. Reviewed everything up to fe94a38.

Security Overview

• 🔎 Scanned files: 1 changed file(s)

Detected Code Changes

Change Type	Relevant files
Bug Fix	► index.php     Update input parameter handling

The following issues were found:

• Remote File Inclusion (RFI): No patch for this bug could be generated. Here is a description and location:
  Location: test/index.php:26:29
  Description: Remote File Inclusion (RFI) vulnerability if user input can manipulate file paths that are included in the application. If the application does not validate or sanitize file input correctly, it may lead to inclusion of unwanted files.
  Link to UI: https://zeropath.com/app/issues/83762ba3-f225-4633-9897-9b7f007ec856
• Cross Site Scripting (XSS): Patch with details available at Patch Fix: Mitigate XSS vulnerability by sanitizing user input with htmlspecialchars and adding strict type validation in PHP. #4
• Open Redirect: No patch for this bug could be generated. Here is a description and location:
  Location: test/index.php:22:25
  Description: Unvalidated URL redirection vulnerability. If a user can control the redirect URL without proper validation, it could result in open redirect or redirection to malicious sites, leading to phishing attacks.
  Link to UI: https://zeropath.com/app/issues/4ab4929d-cf01-40f7-931a-ce212c198c40
• SQL Injection (SQLI): No patch for this bug could be generated. Here is a description and location:
  Location: test/index.php:13:16
  Description: Potential SQL Injection vulnerability due to improper handling of user input in the database query. If user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being included in the SQL statement, attackers could manipulate the input to execute arbitrary SQL commands.
  Link to UI: https://zeropath.com/app/issues/cb6ab35c-dda3-45ef-9832-d6e7af11b043

Reply to this PR with @zeropath-ai-dev followed by a description of what change you want and we'll auto-submit a change to this PR to implement it.