CVE-2007-0079 in rblog
Summary
by MITRE
rblog stores sensitive information under the web root with insufficient access control, which allows remote attackers to download a database via a direct request for (1) data/admin.mdb or (2) data/rblog.mdb.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0079 represents a critical misconfiguration issue in the rblog web application that exposes sensitive database files to unauthorized remote access. This flaw stems from improper access control mechanisms and insecure file placement within the web server's document root directory. The vulnerability specifically affects two database files admin.mdb and rblog.mdb which are stored in the data directory under the web root, making them directly accessible through HTTP requests without proper authentication or authorization checks. This configuration violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and secure by default design, allowing any remote attacker to obtain sensitive information simply by knowing the file paths and making direct HTTP requests to these database files.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a straightforward pattern where attackers can directly access database files through URL requests such as http://target.com/data/admin.mdb or http://target.com/data/rblog.mdb. This represents a classic case of insecure direct object reference vulnerability, where the application fails to verify that the requesting user has proper authorization to access the requested resource. The flaw directly maps to CWE-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, and CWE-285, which addresses insufficient authorization. The vulnerability exists because the web server configuration does not properly restrict access to files located within the web root directory, particularly those containing sensitive data such as user credentials, application configuration, or business data that would typically be stored in the database files.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially compromise the entire application infrastructure and user data. Database files containing admin.mdb and rblog.mdb likely contain critical application data including user accounts, administrative credentials, application configuration settings, and potentially sensitive business information. Attackers could leverage this access to perform further attacks such as credential reuse, privilege escalation, or data manipulation within the application. This vulnerability aligns with several techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1083 discovery technique for directory listing and T1213 data from information repositories for database access. The exposure of these database files could lead to complete application compromise, as they may contain not only user credentials but also application logic, business data, and potentially encryption keys or other sensitive artifacts that could facilitate additional attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-0079 should focus on implementing proper access controls and secure file placement practices. The primary remediation involves moving sensitive database files outside of the web root directory and ensuring that web servers are configured to prevent direct access to these files through HTTP requests. Organizations should implement proper authentication and authorization mechanisms for all application resources, ensuring that database files are only accessible through proper application interfaces rather than direct URL access. The solution should include proper web server configuration to deny access to sensitive directories and files, along with implementing proper input validation and access control checks. Additionally, regular security audits should be conducted to ensure that no sensitive files are inadvertently placed within web-accessible directories. This vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and configuration management principles, including the principle of least privilege and the secure by default approach that should be implemented across all web applications to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.