CVE-2002-2027 in Database of Our Owlish Wisdom
Summary
by MITRE
Database of Our Owlish Wisdom (DOOW) 0.1 through 0.2.1 does not properly verify user permissions, which allows remote attackers to perform unauthorized activities.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-2027 affects the Database of Our Owlish Wisdom (DOOW) software version 0.1 through 0.2.1, representing a critical authorization flaw that undermines the system's security posture. This issue stems from insufficient user permission verification mechanisms within the application's access control framework, creating a pathway for malicious actors to bypass intended security measures and execute unauthorized operations. The vulnerability exists at the application level where proper authentication and authorization checks fail to validate user privileges before permitting access to sensitive functions or data resources.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's failure to implement robust input validation and access control verification procedures. When users attempt to interact with the database system, the software does not adequately authenticate their credentials or verify their assigned permissions before executing requested operations. This weak authentication model allows remote attackers to exploit the system by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from authorized users. The vulnerability essentially creates a backdoor mechanism where unauthorized individuals can escalate their privileges or directly access restricted database functionalities without proper authorization.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to data integrity and confidentiality within the affected system. Remote attackers who successfully exploit this permission verification flaw can potentially perform a wide range of unauthorized activities including data manipulation, unauthorized data access, privilege escalation, and potentially full system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access as the vulnerability could enable attackers to modify database contents, extract sensitive information, or disrupt normal system operations. Given that the vulnerability affects multiple versions of the software, the potential attack surface is substantial, affecting organizations that have not yet updated to patched releases.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and represents a classic example of insufficient access control mechanisms. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation and credential access, as attackers can leverage the flawed permission verification to gain elevated system access. The remote nature of the attack vector means that exploitation does not require physical access to the system, making it particularly dangerous for network-connected applications. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including software updates, proper access control configuration, and network segmentation to reduce the risk of exploitation.
The remediation approach should prioritize immediate software patching to address the permission verification flaw in affected versions. Additionally, system administrators should implement comprehensive access control policies, conduct regular security audits, and establish proper monitoring mechanisms to detect unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies where multiple layers of security controls work together to protect against unauthorized access. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious activities that may indicate exploitation attempts against this type of authorization flaw.