CVE-2004-2144 in Smart Forms
Summary
by MITRE
Baal Smart Forms before 3.2 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and obtain system access via a direct request to regadmin.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/23/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2144 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw in Baal Smart Forms versions prior to 3.2. This issue stems from insufficient access control mechanisms within the application's administrative interface, specifically affecting the regadmin.php component that handles user registration and administrative functions. The flaw allows remote attackers to directly access administrative functionalities without proper authentication, potentially enabling full system compromise. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of weak authentication controls and improper access validation, which are commonly classified under CWE-287 for improper authentication and CWE-306 for missing authentication. The vulnerability exists due to the application failing to properly verify user credentials or session tokens before granting access to administrative functions, creating an attack surface that can be exploited from any remote location.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker directly requests the regadmin.php file without authenticating through the proper application interface. This direct access bypasses the normal authentication flow that should validate user credentials and verify administrative privileges before granting access to sensitive administrative functions. The flaw essentially provides a backdoor entry point into the administrative system, allowing unauthorized users to perform administrative tasks such as user management, system configuration changes, and potentially data manipulation. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture where the administrative interface does not properly enforce access controls, violating the principle of least privilege and allowing unauthorized access to critical system functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the Baal Smart Forms application. This level of access enables attackers to modify system configurations, create new administrative accounts, manipulate user data, and potentially escalate their privileges further within the network. The vulnerability can be exploited by any remote attacker without requiring specific credentials or knowledge of valid user accounts, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the application is exposed to the internet. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing, as it allows adversaries to establish persistent access and potentially move laterally within the network. The impact is compounded by the fact that the vulnerability affects the core administrative functionality, making it a high-value target for attackers seeking long-term access to the system.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the Baal Smart Forms application to version 3.2 or later, where the authentication bypass has been addressed. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to administrative interfaces and ensure that administrative functions are only accessible from trusted network segments. Additional security measures include implementing strong access controls, enforcing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts, and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to administrative endpoints. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and access control implementation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security testing including penetration testing and code reviews. Security teams should also implement network monitoring solutions to detect and alert on suspicious requests to administrative endpoints, as this type of vulnerability often manifests through direct HTTP requests to known administrative interfaces. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities in other applications and systems within the organization's infrastructure.