CVE-2007-3688 in DotClear
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in DotClear 1.2.6 allow remote attackers to perform actions as arbitrary users via the (1) tool_url parameter to ecrire/tools.php and multiple fields on the (2) blogconf, (3) blogroll, (4) ecrire/redacteur.php, and (5) ecrire/user_prefs.php pages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/21/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-3688 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting DotClear version 1.2.6, a content management system that was widely used for blog management. This CSRF vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper request validation mechanisms, allowing malicious actors to exploit the system's trust relationship with legitimate users. The flaw specifically targets the authentication and authorization processes within the administrative interface, creating a pathway for unauthorized actions to be executed on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through multiple attack vectors within the DotClear administrative pages. The primary exploitation occurs through the tool_url parameter in the ecrire/tools.php script, where attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions. Additionally, the vulnerability extends to several other administrative interfaces including blogconf, blogroll, ecrire/redacteur.php, and ecrire/user_prefs.php pages. These multiple attack surfaces demonstrate a systemic weakness in the application's CSRF protection mechanisms, where the absence of anti-forgery tokens or session validation checks allows attackers to manipulate administrative functions through carefully constructed requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to perform arbitrary administrative actions on compromised systems. An attacker could potentially modify blog configurations, manage user accounts, edit content, or manipulate the blogroll without the legitimate user's awareness. This creates a significant risk for blog administrators who may unknowingly execute malicious commands while browsing compromised websites or clicking on malicious links. The vulnerability essentially allows for complete administrative takeover of affected DotClear installations, making it a critical concern for any organization relying on this CMS for content management.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw demonstrates poor implementation of the principle of least privilege and inadequate session management, as the system fails to verify the authenticity of requests originating from the legitimate user interface. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique, specifically within the T1078 credential access domain, where attackers leverage existing authenticated sessions to perform unauthorized actions. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens, proper request validation, and session management controls to prevent unauthorized administrative actions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should encompass multiple layers of defense. The most effective immediate solution involves implementing anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each administrative request. These tokens should be unique for each transaction and tied to the user's session to prevent attackers from reusing valid requests. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict referer header validation and implement proper session management controls. The application should also be updated to a patched version that addresses the CSRF implementation flaws, as DotClear 1.2.6 is an outdated version that likely contains additional vulnerabilities beyond this CSRF issue. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls and proper access controls should also be implemented to monitor and prevent unauthorized administrative access attempts, particularly in environments where multiple users have administrative privileges.