CVE-2007-0924 in phpPolls
Summary
by MITRE
Till Gerken phpPolls 1.0.3 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and perform certain administrative actions via a direct request to phpPollAdmin.php3. NOTE: this issue might subsume CVE-2006-3764.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0924 affects phpPolls version 1.0.3, a web-based polling application developed by Till Gerken. This security flaw represents a critical authentication bypass vulnerability that allows remote attackers to gain administrative privileges without proper credentials. The issue manifests through a direct request to the phpPollAdmin.php3 file, which serves as the administrative interface for the polling system. The vulnerability stems from inadequate access control mechanisms within the application's authentication framework, specifically failing to validate user permissions before granting access to administrative functions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker directly accesses the phpPollAdmin.php3 endpoint without proper authentication. This flaw enables unauthorized users to bypass the normal login process and immediately gain access to administrative controls within the phpPolls application. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-287 which addresses improper handling of authentication tokens and credentials, specifically focusing on authentication bypass issues. The flaw represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture where the system does not properly verify that incoming requests originate from authenticated administrators before executing privileged operations.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes the phpPolls application to significant security risks including unauthorized modification of polls, deletion of existing polls, creation of malicious polls, and potential data manipulation or theft. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to alter poll results, inject malicious content, or completely compromise the integrity of the polling system. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access to the system or local network presence, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from anywhere on the internet. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and legitimate credentials for unauthorized access.
The security implications extend beyond immediate administrative access, as this vulnerability could serve as a foothold for further attacks within the network infrastructure. Once an attacker gains administrative access through this bypass, they could potentially escalate privileges, access sensitive data, or use the compromised system as a launching point for attacks on other network resources. The vulnerability demonstrates poor security practices in input validation and access control implementation, where the application fails to properly enforce authorization checks for administrative functions. Organizations using phpPolls version 1.0.3 should immediately implement mitigations including applying available patches, implementing network segmentation, and conducting comprehensive security audits to identify any potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper authentication design principles and the need for robust access control mechanisms in web applications to prevent unauthorized administrative access.