CVE-2007-3611 in VRNews
Summary
by MITRE
admin.php in VRNews 1.1.1, and possibly other 1.x versions, does not require authentication, which allows remote attackers to perform certain administrative actions via a direct request with a (1) edit, (2) add, (3) config, or (4) del value in the act parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-3611 affects VRNews version 1.1.1 and potentially other 1.x versions, representing a critical authentication bypass flaw in the administrative interface. This issue stems from the admin.php script failing to properly validate user credentials before executing administrative operations, creating a significant security gap that exposes sensitive system functions to unauthorized access. The vulnerability specifically manifests when attackers can directly access administrative endpoints by manipulating the act parameter with values such as edit, add, config, or del, which correspond to different administrative actions within the application's backend.
The technical implementation of this flaw resides in the application's lack of proper authentication checks within the admin.php file, which serves as the central administrative interface for VRNews. This absence of authentication validation creates a direct pathway for remote attackers to execute administrative functions without proper authorization, effectively granting them full control over the application's configuration, content management, and user data handling capabilities. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, specifically targeting the web application's authentication mechanisms and access control enforcement, making it particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to perform operations that should only be accessible to authenticated administrators.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the affected VRNews installation. Remote attackers can manipulate content through the edit and add functions, modify system configurations via the config parameter, and delete critical data using the del parameter, all without requiring valid credentials. This level of access enables attackers to compromise the integrity and availability of the web application, potentially leading to data breaches, unauthorized content modification, service disruption, and the establishment of persistent access points within the target environment. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can leverage this flaw from any location without requiring physical access to the system.
This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting, as the flaw effectively allows unauthorized access through the bypass of authentication mechanisms. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the enforcement of proper authentication checks within the admin.php file, the implementation of access control lists, and the deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and block unauthorized administrative requests. Additionally, the application should be updated to a patched version that properly validates user credentials before executing administrative operations, and network segmentation should be implemented to limit access to administrative interfaces to trusted networks only. The remediation process should also include a comprehensive security audit of all administrative endpoints to identify and address similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities throughout the application codebase.