CVE-2005-1482 in ArticleLive
Summary
by MITRE
ArticleLive 2005 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by modifying the (1) auth and (2) userId fields in a cookie.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1482 resides within ArticleLive 2005, a content management system that was prevalent during the mid-2000s era. This security flaw represents a classic example of improper input validation and weak session management mechanisms that were commonly exploited during this period of web application development. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication cookie handling process, where the application fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied data before processing authentication requests.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of cookie values, specifically targeting the auth and userId fields that are typically used to maintain user session state and authentication status. Attackers can craft malicious cookies with modified values that bypass normal authentication checks, effectively allowing unauthorized access to administrative or user accounts. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of insecure direct object references and weak session management practices that were particularly prevalent in legacy web applications of that era. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental lack of proper access control implementation where the application trusts client-side data without sufficient server-side validation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant security risk for organizations using ArticleLive 2005, as it allows remote attackers to escalate privileges without requiring valid credentials or exploiting other system weaknesses. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it can be executed entirely from an external network without requiring physical access or prior authentication. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates how improper cookie handling can lead to complete system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access to include potential data breaches, system manipulation, and unauthorized content modification.
The security implications of CVE-2005-1482 align with several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for credential access and T1078 for valid accounts, as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to obtain elevated privileges through manipulated session data. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability corresponds to CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization, and CWE-345, which covers insufficient verification of data authenticity. The weakness represents a failure in implementing proper input sanitization and authentication validation mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including proper cookie validation, secure session management, and input sanitization techniques. The recommended approach involves implementing server-side validation of all cookie values, implementing proper access controls, and ensuring that authentication tokens cannot be manipulated by unauthorized parties. Additionally, this vulnerability underscores the importance of regular security assessments and the need for robust session management practices that were not adequately addressed in many legacy applications of that time period.