CVE-2006-6229 in ltwCalendar
Summary
by MITRE
Codewalkers ltwCalendar (aka PHP Event Calendar) before 4.2.1 logs failed passwords, which might allow attackers to infer correct passwords from the log file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2018
The vulnerability identified in CVE-2006-6229 affects the Codewalkers ltwCalendar PHP Event Calendar application, specifically versions prior to 4.2.1. This issue represents a significant security flaw that directly impacts authentication mechanisms and could potentially enable credential guessing attacks. The vulnerability stems from the application's improper handling of failed authentication attempts, where it systematically records failed password attempts in log files without adequate sanitization or access controls.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's logging mechanism which indiscriminately captures and stores failed authentication credentials in plain text format within log files. This behavior creates a potential information disclosure vulnerability where attackers can access these log files and analyze the patterns of failed login attempts to deduce valid usernames and passwords. The flaw directly correlates to CWE-540, which addresses the inclusion of sensitive information in log files, and CWE-312, which deals with the exposure of sensitive data through improper logging practices. The logging of failed credentials provides attackers with valuable intelligence for conducting dictionary attacks or brute force attempts against the system.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability significantly weakens the authentication security posture of systems running affected versions of the calendar application. Attackers can leverage the logged failed password attempts to construct more effective attack vectors by identifying common password patterns or by confirming valid usernames through successful authentication attempts. The vulnerability essentially provides a backdoor mechanism for attackers to gather intelligence about the system's authentication structure, potentially enabling them to bypass stronger security measures through targeted credential guessing. This issue particularly affects web applications that rely on simple authentication mechanisms and lack additional security controls such as account lockout policies or rate limiting.
The security implications extend beyond immediate credential compromise, as the vulnerability can be exploited as part of a broader attack chain that may lead to system compromise. According to ATT&CK framework category T1110, this vulnerability enables credential access through brute force or password guessing techniques. Organizations running affected software should consider implementing immediate mitigations including restricting access to log files, implementing proper access controls on log directories, and ensuring that authentication attempts are not logged in a manner that could expose sensitive information. The recommended solution involves updating to version 4.2.1 or later, which addresses this logging behavior by either removing password logging or implementing proper access controls on log file contents. Additionally, system administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of authentication attempts and establish automated alerts for unusual login patterns that could indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability.