CVE-2002-0286 in Sitenews
Summary
by MITRE
The GetPassword function in function.php of SiteNews 0.10 and 0.11 allows remote attackers to gain privileges and add users by providing a non-existent user name and the MD5 checksum for an empty password to add_user.php, which causes GetPassword to produce and compare a blank password for the non-existent user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/27/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-0286 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw in SiteNews version 0.10 and 0.11, specifically within the function.php file's GetPassword function. This issue stems from improper input validation and authentication logic that fails to properly verify user existence before processing password comparisons. The flaw allows remote attackers to exploit a weakness in the system's user management mechanism by providing a non-existent username along with the MD5 checksum of an empty password, effectively bypassing normal authentication procedures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits a fundamental flaw in the password verification process where the system attempts to validate credentials for a user that does not exist in the database. When an attacker submits a non-existent username combined with the MD5 hash of an empty string, the GetPassword function processes this input and generates a comparison against what it believes to be a valid user account. This behavior violates standard security practices and creates an authentication bypass condition that can be leveraged to escalate privileges and perform unauthorized user management operations.
This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing attacks that could be used to exploit such authentication flaws. The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows attackers to gain administrative privileges and add new users to the system without proper authorization. The flaw essentially creates a backdoor mechanism where any remote attacker can bypass normal user authentication and potentially gain full control over the SiteNews application and its underlying user management system.
The security implications extend beyond simple privilege escalation as this vulnerability enables attackers to manipulate the user database and potentially establish persistent access points within the system. The use of MD5 checksums for empty passwords suggests a lack of proper cryptographic security measures and input sanitization, making the system vulnerable to various attack vectors including credential stuffing and brute force attempts. Organizations using affected versions of SiteNews face significant risk of unauthorized access, data compromise, and potential system takeover through exploitation of this vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of the affected SiteNews versions to address the authentication bypass flaw, implementation of proper input validation for all user authentication functions, and enforcement of secure password handling practices. Security measures should also include monitoring for unusual user account creation patterns and implementing proper access controls that prevent unauthorized privilege escalation. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other legacy systems and ensure proper authentication mechanisms are in place to prevent such issues from occurring in future deployments.