CVE-2006-0157 in Magic News Plus
Summary
by MITRE
settings.php in Reamday Enterprises Magic News Plus 1.0.3 allows remote attackers to change the administrator password via a change action that specifies identical values for the passwd and admin_password parameters, then declares the new password string in the new_passwd and confirm_passwd parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-0157 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within the Magic News Plus content management system version 1.0.3 developed by Reamday Enterprises. This weakness stems from improper input validation and parameter handling within the settings.php script, which governs administrative configuration changes for the web application. The vulnerability specifically targets the password modification functionality, creating a pathway for unauthorized remote attackers to gain administrative control over the system without proper authentication credentials.
The technical exploitation mechanism relies on a deliberate design flaw in the password change logic where the application fails to properly validate that the new password parameters are being set by an authenticated administrator. Attackers can craft malicious requests that include identical values for passwd and admin_password parameters, effectively bypassing the initial authentication check, followed by the declaration of new password values through new_passwd and confirm_passwd parameters. This vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insufficient authorization validation and improper parameter handling that allows privilege escalation through manipulated HTTP request parameters.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables remote attackers to completely compromise the administrative account of the Magic News Plus system. Once exploited, attackers gain full control over the content management system including the ability to modify or delete content, add malicious users, install backdoors, and potentially use the compromised system as a launching point for further attacks within the network. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the web application, making it a critical security concern for any organization using this version of Magic News Plus.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting. The flaw represents a failure in implementing proper access control mechanisms and input validation procedures that should have been in place to prevent unauthorized administrative actions. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including patching to the latest version of Magic News Plus, implementing proper parameter validation, and ensuring that all administrative functions require proper authentication verification before executing any privileged operations. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring of administrative access patterns should be implemented to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.