CVE-2004-1994 in Fusetalk
Summary
by MITRE
FuseTalk 4.0 allows remote attackers to ban other users via a direct request to banning.cfm.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1994 affects FuseTalk 4.0, a web-based discussion forum software that was widely used for community engagement and user-generated content platforms. This particular flaw represents a critical access control weakness that allows unauthorized remote attackers to manipulate user account statuses within the system. The vulnerability specifically resides in the banning.cfm component of the application, which serves as the administrative interface for user banning operations. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and authentication checks within this particular script, enabling malicious actors to bypass normal access controls and execute banning functions directly through crafted HTTP requests.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a lack of proper authorization verification within the banning.cfm script. When users make requests to this component, the application fails to authenticate whether the requester possesses legitimate administrative privileges or authorization to perform banning operations. This absence of access control validation creates a path for remote exploitation where attackers can construct specially formatted requests to trigger user banning functionality. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited without requiring any prior authentication credentials or privileged access to the system. This flaw directly maps to CWE-285, which addresses insufficient authorization issues in software applications, and represents a classic example of improper access control that allows unauthorized users to perform administrative functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple user account manipulation and can significantly disrupt forum operations and community integrity. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can systematically ban legitimate users from the platform, effectively silencing community members and undermining the collaborative nature of the forum. The ability to ban users remotely without proper authorization creates potential for abuse including targeted harassment, denial of service attacks against community members, and disruption of normal forum activities. This vulnerability also compromises the trust relationship between forum administrators and users, as unauthorized individuals can manipulate user access levels. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques involving privilege escalation and user account manipulation, specifically mapping to T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for social engineering through compromised accounts.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-1994 should focus on implementing robust access control mechanisms and input validation within the application. The primary fix involves adding comprehensive authentication checks to the banning.cfm component to verify that only authorized administrators can execute banning operations. This includes implementing proper session management, validating user credentials against legitimate administrative accounts, and ensuring that all administrative functions require explicit authorization. Organizations should also implement input sanitization to prevent injection attacks and consider implementing rate limiting to prevent automated exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and conducting regular security assessments of web applications. Additionally, deploying web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious requests to administrative components can provide additional layers of protection against similar exploitation attempts. System administrators should also review and enforce proper user access controls and implement principle of least privilege configurations to minimize potential impact from such vulnerabilities.