CVE-2005-1871 in Drupal
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in the privilege system in Drupal 4.4.0 through 4.6.0, when public registration is enabled, allows remote attackers to gain privileges, due to an "input check" that "is not implemented properly."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1871 represents a critical flaw in Drupal's privilege management system affecting versions 4.4.0 through 4.6.0. This issue specifically manifests when public user registration is enabled, creating a pathway for remote attackers to escalate their privileges within the system. The vulnerability stems from improper implementation of input validation mechanisms that should have prevented unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. The flaw exists in the core privilege system design where input checks fail to properly validate user-provided data during registration and privilege assignment processes, allowing malicious actors to manipulate system behavior through crafted inputs.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insufficient input validation and privilege checking within web applications. When users register with public registration enabled, the system should enforce strict validation of user inputs to prevent malicious manipulation of privilege levels. However, the flawed input check mechanism allows attackers to submit specially crafted data that bypasses normal privilege assignment controls. This weakness operates at the intersection of privilege escalation and input validation failures, creating an environment where unauthenticated attackers can potentially assume higher privileges within the Drupal system. The vulnerability specifically targets the privilege system's integrity checks, where the input validation that should prevent unauthorized privilege elevation is either missing or inadequately implemented, allowing attackers to exploit the registration process to gain elevated system access.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to Drupal installations that allow public user registration. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain administrative privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or service disruption. The remote nature of the attack means that no local access or prior authentication is required, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous. Organizations using affected Drupal versions face potential exposure to unauthorized access, content manipulation, and system takeover scenarios. The vulnerability affects the fundamental security model of the CMS, undermining trust in the privilege management system and potentially exposing sensitive user data and system resources to unauthorized access.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-1871 focus primarily on immediate version upgrades to patched Drupal releases, as the vulnerability represents a core architectural flaw in privilege handling. Organizations should disable public user registration immediately if it is not essential for their operations, as this removes the attack vector entirely. Additionally, implementing proper input validation mechanisms and conducting thorough security audits of privilege assignment processes can help identify similar weaknesses. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1496 for resource hijacking, highlighting the privilege escalation nature of the attack. Security teams should also consider implementing network-level controls and monitoring for suspicious registration patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while ensuring all Drupal installations maintain current security patches and follow secure coding practices to prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom modules or themes.