CVE-2007-4742 in Claroline
Summary
by MITRE
Claroline before 1.8.6 allows remote authenticated administrators to obtain sensitive information via an invalid value in the sort parameter to admin/adminusers.php, which reveals the path in an error message in some circumstances, as demonstrated by a parameter value containing an XSS sequence.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-4742 affects Claroline versions prior to 1.8.6 and represents a classic example of improper input validation leading to information disclosure. This flaw exists within the administrative user management component of the platform, specifically in the adminusers.php script that handles user administration tasks. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited by authenticated administrators, meaning that an attacker who has already gained administrative access could leverage this weakness to extract additional sensitive information from the system. The issue manifests when an invalid value is provided in the sort parameter, which is typically used to organize user listings in the administrative interface. The vulnerability demonstrates a lack of proper error handling and input sanitization, allowing the system to reveal internal path information through error messages that are inadvertently exposed to users with administrative privileges.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves manipulating the sort parameter in the admin/adminusers.php endpoint to trigger an error condition that reveals the system path. This occurs because the application fails to properly validate or sanitize user input before processing it within the sorting functionality. When an invalid value is submitted, particularly one containing cross-site scripting sequences, the application does not properly handle the error condition and instead displays error messages that contain sensitive path information. This type of information disclosure vulnerability falls under the CWE-20 category of "Improper Input Validation" and specifically relates to CWE-200 "Information Exposure" as it reveals system paths that could be used by attackers for further exploitation. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be chained with other attacks, as the revealed paths may provide insights into the system's directory structure and potentially expose other attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it significantly increases the attack surface for authenticated administrators who are already compromised. When an attacker with administrative privileges can obtain system paths, they gain valuable intelligence about the underlying system architecture that could facilitate more sophisticated attacks. The vulnerability can be exploited to gather information about the server environment, file system structure, and potentially reveal the presence of other vulnerabilities within the system. This information disclosure can be particularly damaging in environments where security through obscurity is relied upon as a defense mechanism. The attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083 "File and Directory Discovery" and T1069 "Permission Groups Discovery" as it enables attackers to gather intelligence about system resources and potentially identify other systems within the network. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor security practices in error handling, which can be exploited to perform reconnaissance activities that would otherwise be difficult to achieve through legitimate system access.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability focus on implementing proper input validation and error handling mechanisms within the Claroline application. System administrators should immediately upgrade to Claroline version 1.8.6 or later, where this vulnerability has been patched. The fix should include robust validation of the sort parameter to ensure that only predefined, safe values are accepted, along with proper error handling that does not reveal internal system paths or sensitive information. Additionally, implementing proper logging mechanisms can help detect attempts to exploit this vulnerability, while input sanitization techniques should be employed to prevent malicious payloads from being processed. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious parameter values, and conduct regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications within their environment. The remediation approach should follow security best practices outlined in standards such as OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines, emphasizing the importance of secure coding practices and proper error handling in web applications.