CVE-2007-3597 in Zen Cart
Summary
by MITRE
Session fixation vulnerability in Zen Cart 1.3.7 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions by setting the Cookie parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-3597 represents a critical session fixation flaw within Zen Cart versions 1.3.7 and earlier, fundamentally compromising web application security through improper session management practices. This vulnerability falls under the category of session management weaknesses and aligns with CWE-384, which specifically addresses session fixation issues where an application fails to invalidate existing sessions when establishing new ones. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the authentication mechanism by manipulating session cookies, thereby allowing unauthorized access to user accounts and sensitive data within the e-commerce platform.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from Zen Cart's failure to properly regenerate session identifiers upon successful authentication events. When users log into the system, the application does not invalidate the previous session cookie and establish a new unique session identifier, creating a scenario where attackers can predict or reuse session tokens. This weakness occurs specifically during the authentication process where the application sets the session cookie without ensuring that the session is properly invalidated or regenerated, allowing malicious actors to capture valid session tokens and subsequently impersonate legitimate users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised session context. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain persistent access to user accounts, manipulate shopping cart contents, access personal information, and potentially execute financial transactions on behalf of victims. The remote nature of this vulnerability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges, making it particularly dangerous for e-commerce environments where financial transactions and user data are processed. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1548.003, which covers session hijacking and credential theft through session management flaws.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-3597 must address the fundamental session management issues within Zen Cart installations. Organizations should immediately upgrade to Zen Cart versions 1.3.8 and later, which contain patches specifically designed to resolve the session fixation vulnerability. Additionally, system administrators should implement proper session management protocols including automatic session regeneration upon authentication, secure cookie attributes such as HttpOnly and Secure flags, and regular session timeout configurations. The implementation of these security measures aligns with industry best practices outlined in OWASP Top 10 2021, particularly in addressing the session management weaknesses that enable such exploitation. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional monitoring capabilities to detect suspicious session-related activities and prevent exploitation attempts.