CVE-2005-4657 in Calendar Manager Pro
Summary
by MITRE
Ocean12 Calendar Manager Pro 1.01 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and obtain sensitive information via a direct request to /admin/view.asp. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-4657 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw in Ocean12 Calendar Manager Pro version 1.01, a web-based calendar management application. This issue stems from insufficient access controls within the application's administrative interface, specifically affecting the /admin/view.asp endpoint which serves as a direct access point for privileged administrative functions. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass the standard authentication mechanisms and gain access to sensitive administrative information, potentially compromising the entire calendar management system.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability manifests as a lack of proper input validation and access control checks within the application's code structure. The /admin/view.asp page appears to be designed to require administrative authentication before granting access to sensitive information, but the implementation fails to properly enforce these security controls. Attackers can simply construct a direct HTTP request to this specific endpoint without providing valid credentials, thereby circumventing the intended authentication flow. This type of vulnerability typically indicates poor application design where security checks are either absent or improperly implemented, creating an open door for unauthorized access to administrative functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it provides attackers with unrestricted access to administrative capabilities within the calendar management system. Successful exploitation could enable threat actors to view, modify, or delete calendar entries, user accounts, and potentially sensitive organizational data stored within the application. The remote nature of this attack vector means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the system or knowledge of valid credentials. This creates a significant risk for organizations relying on the application for business-critical calendar and scheduling functions, potentially leading to data breaches, unauthorized modifications, or complete system compromise.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues in software applications, and represents a classic example of insufficient authorization checks in web applications. The flaw also relates to ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers legitimate credentials obtained through compromise of administrative tools, as attackers can effectively obtain administrative access without needing to compromise legitimate accounts. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including access control restrictions on administrative endpoints, proper input validation, and network segmentation to limit exposure. The recommended remediation involves applying the vendor's security patch if available, implementing proper authentication checks at the application level, and conducting thorough security reviews of all administrative interfaces to prevent similar issues in other components.