CVE-2004-1967 in OpenBB
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in (1) cp_forums.php, (2) cp_usergroup.php, (3) cp_ipbans.php, (4) myhome.php, (5) post.php, or (6) moderator.php in Open Bulletin Board (OpenBB) 1.0.6 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by including the code in an image tag or a link.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1967 represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness affecting multiple administrative scripts within Open Bulletin Board version 1.0.6 and earlier. This CSRF flaw exists in six distinct files including cp_forums php, cp_usergroup php, cp_ipbans php, myhome php, post php, and moderator php, creating a widespread attack surface that significantly compromises system security. The vulnerability stems from the lack of proper authentication validation mechanisms when processing requests from administrative interfaces, allowing malicious actors to manipulate user sessions and execute unauthorized actions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the fundamental principle that web applications should verify the authenticity of requests originating from authenticated users. In OpenBB's case, the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or proper session validation in these administrative scripts creates a pathway for attackers to craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the application. The vulnerability description indicates that attackers can include malicious code within image tags or hyperlinks, leveraging the browser's automatic processing of these elements to execute arbitrary commands. This approach demonstrates the exploitation of the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser, where legitimate administrative actions can be performed without proper authorization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows remote attackers to gain administrative control over affected systems. By leveraging CSRF techniques, attackers can modify forum configurations, ban users, manage user groups, and manipulate content without requiring direct access to administrative credentials. The attack vector through image tags and links makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be delivered through seemingly benign web content, social engineering campaigns, or compromised websites. The potential for arbitrary code execution through these administrative interfaces creates a severe risk of complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and service disruption.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and authentication mechanisms, as outlined in the Common Weakness Enumeration standards. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing, as attackers can leverage the compromised administrative functions to maintain persistent access and expand their attack surface. The exploitation process follows the typical CSRF attack pattern where attackers craft malicious payloads that, when executed by authenticated users, perform unauthorized administrative actions. Organizations using OpenBB 1.0.6 or earlier should immediately implement mitigations including the addition of anti-CSRF tokens, proper session management, and input validation controls to prevent unauthorized administrative actions. The remediation process should involve comprehensive code review of all administrative scripts and implementation of proper authentication verification mechanisms to ensure that all requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions.