CVE-2004-1567 in Silent Storm
Summary
by MITRE
profile.php in Silent Storm Portal 2.1 and 2.2 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by setting the mail parameter to 1, which is the value for an administrator.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/08/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1567 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the Silent Storm Portal web application version 2.1 and 2.2. This security weakness resides in the profile.php script which handles user profile management functionality. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and improper access control mechanisms that fail to properly verify user permissions before granting administrative privileges. Attackers can exploit this flaw by manipulating the mail parameter value to 1, which corresponds to the administrative role within the application's permission structure.
This vulnerability falls under the category of improper access control as defined by CWE-285, where the application fails to properly enforce authorization checks for administrative functions. The flaw demonstrates a classic case of insecure parameter handling where user-supplied input directly influences privilege levels without proper sanitization or validation. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it allows remote exploitation without requiring authentication, making it accessible to any attacker with network access to the vulnerable system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables unauthorized users to escalate their privileges to administrator level remotely. This compromise effectively grants attackers full control over the application's administrative functions, including but not limited to user management, content modification, system configuration changes, and potential data exfiltration. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system, as attackers can manipulate the application's core functionality and potentially use the elevated privileges to establish persistent access or launch further attacks against the underlying infrastructure.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation tactics, specifically targeting the 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation' technique. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation for all user-supplied parameters, proper access control enforcement, and input sanitization to prevent parameter manipulation. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of proper role-based access control implementation and the need for comprehensive security testing including penetration testing and code review processes to identify similar flaws in web applications. The affected Silent Storm Portal versions should be immediately updated to patched releases or replaced with secure alternatives to prevent exploitation.