CVE-2007-4017 in Access Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the web-based administration console in Citrix Access Gateway before firmware 4.5.5 allows remote attackers to perform certain configuration changes as administrators.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/23/2019
The CVE-2007-4017 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Citrix Access Gateway's web-based administration console prior to firmware version 4.5.5. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the administrative interface, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Citrix's access gateway solutions. The flaw stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the administrative web interface, allowing malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated users and the application.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when an authenticated administrator interacts with the Citrix Access Gateway administration console, which fails to validate the origin of requests originating from external domains. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing user sessions to submit forged requests that appear legitimate to the server. This weakness falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities. The vulnerability operates by leveraging the browser's automatic inclusion of cookies and authentication tokens when making requests to the target domain, effectively enabling attackers to perform administrative actions without proper authorization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary configuration changes within the Citrix Access Gateway environment. This includes but is not limited to modifying user accounts, adjusting access policies, changing network configurations, and potentially compromising the entire secure access infrastructure. The attack vector requires minimal privileges from the attacker, as they only need to convince an authenticated administrator to visit a malicious page or be victimized through a social engineering campaign. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where administrators frequently access web-based management interfaces from various locations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including updating to Citrix Access Gateway firmware version 4.5.5 or later, which contains the necessary anti-CSRF protections. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms should be enforced throughout the administration console, requiring unique tokens for each request that are validated against the user's session. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect unusual administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should review their web application security practices and implement the principle of least privilege for administrative accounts. The vulnerability aligns with several techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation and defense evasion tactics, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls beyond simple patch management to address the root cause of the issue.