CVE-2005-1947 in Invision Gallery
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Invision Gallery before 1.3.1 allows remote attackers to delete albums and images as another user via a link or IMG tag to the (1) albums or (2) delimg actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2021
The CVE-2005-1947 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Invision Gallery versions prior to 1.3.1. This vulnerability exists within the web application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, specifically in how the system handles user sessions and request validation. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate the application's behavior by tricking authenticated users into executing unintended actions without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically affects two primary functions within the gallery system: the albums deletion functionality and the image deletion capability. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious links or embedding image tags that automatically trigger these destructive operations on behalf of authenticated users, effectively enabling unauthorized deletion of user content.
The technical exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability relies on the absence of proper request validation mechanisms within the affected Invision Gallery application. When users navigate to malicious pages or view content containing crafted links or image tags, the browser automatically submits requests to the gallery's backend services without requiring additional user authentication. The application fails to verify the origin of these requests or validate that they were intentionally initiated by the legitimate user. This flaw stems from the application's lack of anti-CSRF tokens or similar protective measures that would normally ensure requests originate from legitimate sources within the application's own domain. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to perform high-impact operations such as deleting entire albums or individual images, which can result in permanent data loss for users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data deletion, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and security of user content within the gallery system. Attackers can leverage this weakness to systematically destroy user-generated content, potentially causing significant damage to user accounts and undermining trust in the platform. The remote nature of the attack means that victims need not be technically sophisticated to fall victim, as the exploitation can occur simply through visiting malicious websites or clicking on compromised links. This vulnerability particularly affects collaborative environments where users share albums and images, as attackers could systematically remove content from specific users or entire galleries. The impact is exacerbated by the fact that the vulnerability affects core functionality of the gallery application, making it a critical security concern that could lead to widespread data loss and user dissatisfaction.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the Invision Gallery application. The most effective approach involves incorporating unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session that must be validated with every request attempting to modify application state. These tokens should be generated server-side and embedded within forms or requests, ensuring that malicious actors cannot craft valid requests without access to legitimate session data. The application should also implement strict origin validation checks to ensure that requests originate from the application's own domain. Additionally, implementing proper session management practices, including secure cookie attributes and session timeouts, can help reduce the window of opportunity for exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution and additional layers of authentication for sensitive operations. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in web application security. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique under the web application attack surface, emphasizing the need for comprehensive input validation and request origin verification to prevent unauthorized operations.