CVE-2007-4063 in Drupal
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Drupal 5.x before 5.2 allow remote attackers to (1) delete comments, (2) delete content revisions, and (3) disable menu items as privileged users, related to improper use of HTTP GET and the Forms API.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2017
The CVE-2007-4063 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness affecting Drupal 5.x versions prior to 5.2, demonstrating a fundamental flaw in web application security architecture. This vulnerability stems from improper handling of HTTP GET requests within Drupal's Forms API, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The flaw specifically exploits the lack of proper validation mechanisms that should verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate users versus malicious third parties.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate the web application's behavior through carefully crafted requests that leverage the HTTP GET method for operations typically requiring POST requests. When Drupal processes these requests through its Forms API without adequate CSRF protection measures, it fails to validate that the request originates from a legitimate user session. This oversight creates a scenario where an attacker can construct malicious URLs or forms that, when triggered by a victim who is logged into the Drupal administration interface, execute destructive actions without requiring authentication credentials.
The operational impact of CVE-2007-4063 is severe and multifaceted, affecting multiple critical administrative functions within the Drupal platform. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to delete comments, which compromises content integrity and user engagement, delete content revisions that may contain important historical data, and disable menu items that affect site navigation and accessibility. These actions can result in significant data loss, service disruption, and potential reputational damage for organizations relying on Drupal for their web presence. The vulnerability particularly affects privileged users, meaning that even a simple click on a malicious link could compromise an entire website's content management system.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and insufficient request origin verification, common patterns that appear in the ATT&CK framework under the technique of "Web Application Attack" and specifically relates to "Command and Control" activities where attackers establish persistent access through compromised administrative functions. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Drupal 5.2 or later versions, implementing proper CSRF tokens for all form submissions, and configuring additional security headers to prevent unauthorized cross-site requests. The remediation process should also include reviewing all custom modules and themes for similar vulnerabilities in the Forms API implementation, as this type of flaw often extends beyond core functionality to custom-developed components that may not have received the same security scrutiny.