CVE-2007-1489 in WebAPP
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in web-app.org Web Automated Perl Portal (WebAPP) 0.9.9.4 to 0.9.9.6 allows remote attackers to obtain admin access by modifying cookies and performing "certain consecutive actions," possibly due to a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/27/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-1489 affects the web-app.org Web Automated Perl Portal (WebAPP) version range 0.9.9.4 through 0.9.9.6, representing a critical security flaw that enables unauthorized administrative access through cookie manipulation and sequential actions. This vulnerability resides within the authentication and session management mechanisms of the web application, specifically targeting the application's ability to properly validate user privileges and maintain secure session states. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability description suggests that the core issue involves a complex interaction between multiple components rather than a single, obvious flaw.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability appears to stem from inadequate protection against cross-site request forgery attacks, which is categorized under CWE-352 in the Common Weakness Enumeration system. The flaw manifests when attackers can manipulate session cookies to escalate their privileges from regular user to administrator level through a series of carefully orchestrated actions. This CSRF vulnerability allows attackers to perform administrative functions without proper authentication by leveraging the victim's existing authenticated session. The attack vector specifically exploits the application's failure to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or session validation mechanisms that would normally prevent unauthorized privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over affected WebAPP installations. Once an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can modify application configurations, add or remove users, access sensitive data, and potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on the WebAPP platform for their web content management, making it particularly dangerous for businesses or institutions that depend on this specific software solution. The sequential nature of the attack suggests that the exploitation requires multiple steps, but the overall process remains relatively straightforward for skilled attackers.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-1489 should prioritize immediate patching of affected WebAPP versions to 0.9.9.7 or later, which presumably contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement proper session management practices including the use of anti-CSRF tokens, secure cookie attributes, and robust session validation mechanisms. The implementation of the principle of least privilege should be enforced, ensuring that administrative functions require additional authentication factors beyond simple session cookies. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of cookie manipulation and privilege escalation attempts, while network segmentation can help limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.003 for privilege escalation and T1566 for social engineering attacks that could leverage CSRF weaknesses. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in their web application portfolios.