CVE-2006-7152 in ASP-Nuke
Summary
by MITRE
default.asp in ASP-Nuke Community 1.5 and earlier allows remote attackers to gain privileges by setting certain pseudo cookie values.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-7152 affects ASP-Nuke Community version 1.5 and earlier, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw within the application's authentication mechanism. This issue resides in the default.asp file which serves as the primary entry point for the web application's user interface and session management. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user-supplied input parameters, specifically pseudo cookie values that are manipulated to bypass normal authentication checks. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious cookie values that simulate administrative privileges, thereby gaining unauthorized access to restricted administrative functions and data within the application's backend systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the application's failure to properly sanitize and validate cookie parameters during the authentication process. When the default.asp page processes incoming requests, it relies on certain cookie values to determine user roles and access permissions. However, the application does not adequately validate these pseudo cookie values, allowing attackers to inject crafted values that appear legitimate to the system's internal validation logic. This flaw creates a direct path for privilege escalation attacks where unauthenticated users can manipulate session state information to assume administrative roles. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization within software systems, and specifically manifests as an issue in authentication bypass mechanisms where insufficient input validation leads to unauthorized access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the affected ASP-Nuke Community installation. Once exploited, attackers can modify or delete content, alter user permissions, access sensitive data, and potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or network, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible web applications. Organizations running affected versions of ASP-Nuke Community face significant risk of data breaches, service disruption, and potential compliance violations, especially in environments where the application handles sensitive user information or business-critical data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-7152 should prioritize immediate patching of the affected ASP-Nuke Community installations to the latest available versions that contain proper input validation and authentication controls. System administrators should implement comprehensive cookie validation mechanisms that verify the integrity and authenticity of all cookie values before processing user requests. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of vulnerable applications to untrusted networks. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their web applications to identify similar input validation vulnerabilities that may exist in other components. The remediation process should include implementing proper session management practices, including secure cookie attributes and regular session token rotation. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of robust input validation and proper authentication mechanisms as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten security risks and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting, emphasizing the need for comprehensive defensive measures against privilege escalation attacks.