CVE-2007-3050 in chameleon cms
Summary
by MITRE
Session fixation vulnerability in chameleon cms 3.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions by setting the PHPSESSID parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/28/2017
The CVE-2007-3050 vulnerability represents a critical session fixation flaw in Chameleon CMS versions 3.0 and earlier, fundamentally compromising web application security through improper session management practices. This vulnerability resides in the core session handling mechanism of the content management system, where the application fails to properly regenerate session identifiers upon user authentication, creating a persistent security weakness that adversaries can exploit to gain unauthorized access to user sessions.
The technical implementation of this flaw stems from the application's failure to generate new session identifiers when users log in or authenticate successfully. Instead of regenerating the PHPSESSID parameter with each successful authentication, the system maintains the original session identifier, allowing attackers who know the initial session ID to reuse it after a user authenticates. This creates a scenario where an attacker can establish a session with a known session ID, wait for a legitimate user to authenticate, and then hijack the authenticated session by presenting the same session identifier, effectively impersonating the authenticated user.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to conduct session hijacking attacks without requiring any special privileges or complex exploitation techniques. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be exploited through simple HTTP parameter manipulation, making it particularly dangerous as it requires minimal technical expertise to execute successfully. Once exploited, attackers can gain full access to user accounts, potentially leading to data breaches, privilege escalation, and unauthorized modifications to website content.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-384, which specifically addresses session fixation issues in web applications, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1563.002 related to credentials from password stores. Security practitioners should note that this flaw demonstrates poor adherence to secure coding practices and highlights the critical importance of proper session management protocols. The issue is particularly concerning in environments where Chameleon CMS is deployed without additional security controls or web application firewalls that might otherwise detect and block such parameter manipulation attempts.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing proper session regeneration mechanisms upon successful authentication, ensuring that the PHPSESSID parameter is replaced with a new, cryptographically secure random value each time a user authenticates. Additionally, organizations should implement session timeout mechanisms, use secure session cookie attributes, and deploy comprehensive web application security monitoring solutions. The most effective remediation approach involves upgrading to Chameleon CMS versions that address this specific vulnerability through proper session handling implementations that comply with industry security standards and best practices for session management.