CVE-2006-6508 in phpBB
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in phpBB 2.0.21 allows remote authenticated users to send unauthorized messages as an arbitrary user via unspecified vectors. 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 • 08/05/2019
The CVE-2006-6508 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in phpBB version 2.0.21, a widely deployed open-source bulletin board system that was prevalent in web application security landscapes during the mid-2000s. This vulnerability specifically targets the authentication mechanisms of the forum software, creating a significant security risk for organizations and individuals relying on phpBB for community communication platforms. The flaw enables authenticated attackers to exploit the system's trust relationship with legitimate users, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of user communications within the forum environment.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the message submission processes of phpBB 2.0.21. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing forum functionality to manipulate the application into executing unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the vulnerability could be exploited through various methods including but not limited to crafted HTTP requests, manipulated form submissions, or social engineering techniques that leverage the trust relationship between the user's browser and the phpBB application. This weakness operates at the application layer and directly violates the fundamental security principle of ensuring that all requests originate from legitimate sources within the application's trusted environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple message manipulation, as it represents a potential vector for more sophisticated attacks within the phpBB ecosystem. An attacker could leverage this flaw to post malicious content, alter user permissions, access private messages, or even compromise user accounts through session hijacking techniques. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of message posting and user interaction features, potentially allowing unauthorized modifications to forum content and user data. Given that phpBB installations were commonly used for community forums, support systems, and collaborative platforms, the exploitation of this vulnerability could result in significant reputational damage, data integrity compromise, and potential legal implications for forum administrators and their users.
Organizations and administrators should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of phpBB 2.0.21, which would incorporate proper CSRF token validation mechanisms and enhanced request origin verification. The implementation of anti-CSRF tokens within all state-changing operations, combined with proper HTTP header validation and referer checking, would effectively prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. Additionally, administrators should conduct thorough security audits of their phpBB installations, review user permissions, and monitor for any suspicious activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. 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 attack pattern associated with this vulnerability would fall under the ATT&CK framework's technique T1566, specifically targeting credential exposure through social engineering and web application attacks, highlighting the importance of comprehensive security controls beyond simple patch management.