CVE-2007-4193 in DVD Rental System DRS
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in index.php in IDE Group DVD Rental System (DRS) 5.1 before 20070801 allow remote attackers to perform certain actions as arbitrary users, as demonstrated by (1) modifying data or (2) canceling a subscription. NOTE: it is not clear whether IDE Group updates all DRS installations in its role as an application service provider. If so, then this issue should not be included in CVE.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/28/2017
The CVE-2007-4193 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the IDE Group DVD Rental System version 5.1, specifically affecting the index.php component. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-352, which defines cross-site request forgery as a security weakness where an attacker can trick authenticated users into executing unwanted actions on a web application. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate the system by performing unauthorized operations that appear to originate from legitimate users, creating a significant threat to the integrity and security of the rental system's operations.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the DRS application's authentication and authorization framework. When users interact with the system, particularly during data modification or subscription cancellation processes, the application fails to validate the authenticity of requests originating from the user's browser. This occurs because the system does not implement token-based validation or other protective measures that would ensure requests are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user rather than by an attacker who has managed to inject malicious requests through social engineering or other attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to encompass serious business consequences within the DVD rental system's ecosystem. Attackers could exploit this weakness to modify customer records, alter rental terms, cancel subscriptions without authorization, or potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive user information. The ability to perform actions as arbitrary users creates a cascading security risk where a single compromised user session could enable attackers to execute multiple unauthorized operations across the system. This vulnerability particularly affects the system's service provider model where multiple users share the same application instance, potentially allowing attackers to target any user within the system's scope.
The security implications of CVE-2007-4193 align with the MITRE ATT&CK framework's concept of privilege escalation through web application vulnerabilities. The flaw enables attackers to leverage legitimate user sessions to perform actions that should require explicit authorization, effectively bypassing the system's access controls. This represents a significant concern for service providers who maintain multiple client installations, as demonstrated in the CVE note about potential updates not being applied consistently across all DRS installations. The vulnerability's persistence across different user contexts makes it particularly dangerous for multi-tenant applications where the compromise of one user's session could potentially affect the entire system's integrity.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms including the use of unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session that must be validated before processing any sensitive operations. The system should enforce strict request validation that checks for referer headers, origin validation, and proper session management to prevent unauthorized request execution. Additionally, security patches should be applied immediately to ensure that all DRS installations receive the necessary updates, as highlighted in the CVE note about inconsistent update practices. Organizations should also implement comprehensive monitoring of user activities and establish automated alerting for suspicious operations that could indicate CSRF attack attempts, thereby creating layered defenses against this particular class of vulnerability.