CVE-2002-1736 in CGINews
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in CGINews before 1.06 allow remote attackers to read arbitrary files via "unfiltered user input."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1736 represents a critical security flaw in CGINews software versions prior to 106. This issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the web application's processing pipeline, creating an avenue for malicious actors to exploit the system through unfiltered user data. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize or validate user-supplied parameters before using them in file operations, leading to potential unauthorized data access.
This security weakness directly maps to CWE-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal attacks. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to manipulate input parameters in such a way that the application processes file requests outside of its intended directory structure. When user input is directly incorporated into file path operations without proper filtering or validation, attackers can craft malicious requests that traverse directory structures and access sensitive files that should remain protected.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it enables attackers to potentially access system configuration files, database credentials, application source code, or other sensitive information stored on the server. This type of vulnerability represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security model, where input validation should occur at multiple layers of the software stack. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges to exploit this weakness.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1083 technique for discovering files and directories, and T1213 for data from information repositories. The attack vector typically involves sending specially crafted HTTP requests that include directory traversal sequences such as ../ or ..\, which when processed by the vulnerable application, result in unauthorized file access. The exploitation process is relatively straightforward and can be automated using various penetration testing tools, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where the affected software is widely deployed.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-1736 should focus on implementing proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms throughout the application's processing pipeline. The most effective approach involves filtering all user-supplied input to prevent directory traversal sequences from being processed as legitimate file path components. Additionally, developers should implement strict file access controls that limit the application's ability to access files outside of designated directories. Regular security updates and patch management processes are essential to ensure that vulnerable versions of CGINews are not deployed in production environments, while also maintaining comprehensive logging and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.