CVE-2007-2631 in SquirrelMail
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in SquirrelMail 1.4.8-4.fc6 and earlier allows remote attackers to perform unspecified actions as arbitrary users via unspecified vectors. NOTE: this issue might overlap CVE-2007-2589 or CVE-2002-1648.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2018
The cross-site request forgery vulnerability identified in SquirrelMail version 1.4.8-4.fc6 and earlier represents a critical security flaw that undermines the application's ability to authenticate user requests properly. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of web application security weaknesses that can be exploited by malicious actors to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users. The flaw exists within the application's session management and request validation mechanisms, creating an avenue for attackers to manipulate user sessions and execute malicious operations without proper authorization.
This CSRF vulnerability operates by tricking authenticated users into executing unintended actions through malicious web pages or links that leverage the user's existing session cookies. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows remote attackers to perform unspecified actions as arbitrary users, meaning that an attacker could potentially modify user settings, send emails, delete messages, or perform any action that the authenticated user is authorized to perform. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the attack could occur through multiple methods including email links, embedded images, or malicious websites that craft requests to the vulnerable SquirrelMail application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or modification, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of user sessions and can lead to complete account takeovers. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gain persistent access to user mailboxes, potentially accessing sensitive communications, personal information, and business data. The vulnerability's potential overlap with CVE-2007-2589 and CVE-2002-1648 indicates that this may represent a broader class of session management flaws that affect multiple versions or implementations of similar webmail applications. This overlap suggests that organizations running affected versions of SquirrelMail or similar applications may be vulnerable to similar attacks across different implementations.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The attack pattern follows typical CSRF methodologies described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique of "T1566: Phishing" and "T1078: Valid Accounts" where attackers leverage valid user sessions to execute malicious actions. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical skill, making it particularly dangerous as it can be automated and deployed at scale. Organizations should consider implementing comprehensive CSRF protection mechanisms including anti-forgery tokens, origin validation, and proper session management practices. The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to patched versions of SquirrelMail, implementing proper CSRF token validation, and ensuring that all web applications enforce strict request origin verification to prevent unauthorized actions from being executed on behalf of authenticated users.