CVE-2007-1364 in DropAFew
Summary
by MITRE
DropAFew before 0.2.1 does not require authorization for certain privileged actions, which allows remote attackers to (1) view the logged calorie information of arbitrary users via the id parameter in editlogcal.php, (2) add arbitrary links via links.php, or (3) create arbitrary users via newaccount2.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-1364 affects DropAFew versions prior to 0.2.1 and represents a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the application's security model. This weakness stems from insufficient access control mechanisms within the web application's authentication framework, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to perform privileged operations that should require proper user authentication and authorization. The vulnerability specifically targets three distinct attack vectors that collectively demonstrate a fundamental failure in the application's privilege management system, exposing sensitive user data and enabling unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through three primary attack paths that all share the common flaw of inadequate authentication checks. The first vector involves the editlogcal.php script where the id parameter lacks proper authorization validation, enabling attackers to retrieve calorie logging data from arbitrary user accounts. This represents a direct violation of data confidentiality principles and demonstrates a classic privilege escalation vulnerability. The second attack path through links.php allows unauthorized users to inject arbitrary hyperlinks into the application, potentially enabling phishing attacks or malicious content delivery. The third vector via newaccount2.php permits the creation of new user accounts without proper authorization, which could lead to account takeover scenarios or unauthorized access to application resources. These vulnerabilities collectively demonstrate a failure in implementing proper access control checks that should be enforced at every privileged operation endpoint.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure to encompass potential system compromise and unauthorized administrative control. Remote attackers can exploit these flaws to gain unauthorized access to user personal health information, which constitutes sensitive personal data under privacy regulations. The ability to add arbitrary links creates potential for social engineering attacks that could compromise other users through malicious content delivery. Furthermore, the unauthorized creation of user accounts could enable attackers to establish persistent access points within the application or to assume the identity of legitimate users. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that should govern all privileged operations. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that all three exploitation paths are accessible remotely without requiring any prior authentication credentials.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must focus on implementing robust authentication and authorization controls across all privileged application endpoints. The primary remediation involves adding proper access control checks to each of the vulnerable scripts, ensuring that all operations requiring elevated privileges validate user authentication status and authorization levels before execution. The implementation should enforce session management controls, validate user roles, and implement proper input sanitization for all parameters that influence privileged operations. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security measures such as rate limiting on privileged operations, logging and monitoring of unauthorized access attempts, and regular security assessments to identify similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of defense in depth principles and the necessity of implementing multiple layers of access control validation throughout application code. The remediation process should include thorough code review to identify other potential authorization bypass points and ensure that all user-facing scripts properly validate access permissions before executing privileged operations.