CVE-2007-5172 in Quicksilver Forums
Summary
by MITRE
Quicksilver Forums before 1.4.1 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by causing unspecified connection errors, which reveals the database password in the resulting error message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/29/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-5172 affects Quicksilver Forums versions prior to 1.4.1 and represents a critical information disclosure flaw that exposes database credentials through improperly handled error messages. This vulnerability falls under the category of insecure error handling and demonstrates how application errors can inadvertently reveal sensitive system information to unauthorized parties. The flaw occurs when the application encounters unspecified connection errors during database operations, resulting in error messages that contain the database password in plain text format. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it provides attackers with direct access to database authentication credentials without requiring additional exploitation techniques.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper error message sanitization and secure error handling mechanisms. When database connection failures occur, the system should gracefully handle these errors without exposing internal system details or configuration information. The error handling code in Quicksilver Forums versions before 1.4.1 appears to directly incorporate database connection parameters into error messages, creating a path for information disclosure. This behavior violates fundamental security principles that dictate error messages should never reveal sensitive system information, including passwords, database names, or connection strings. The vulnerability is classified as a CWE-209 - Information Exposure Through an Error Message, which specifically addresses the risk of sensitive data exposure through error handling mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides remote attackers with immediate access to database credentials, enabling them to establish direct database connections and potentially execute unauthorized operations. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by triggering connection errors through various means such as network disruption, invalid database credentials, or attempting to connect to non-existent database instances. Once the database password is obtained, attackers can perform data exfiltration, modify database contents, escalate privileges, or conduct further reconnaissance against the affected system. This vulnerability also increases the risk of cascading security incidents, as compromised database credentials can be used to access other systems that rely on the same database infrastructure. The exposure of database passwords through error messages represents a classic example of how poor input validation and error handling can create security vulnerabilities that significantly weaken the overall security posture.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of mitigation to address this vulnerability and prevent similar issues in the future. The primary remediation involves updating Quicksilver Forums to version 1.4.1 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for proper error handling. Additionally, administrators should implement comprehensive error handling that sanitizes all error messages before display, ensuring that no sensitive information is exposed regardless of the error type encountered. This includes configuring the application to log detailed error information internally while displaying generic error messages to end users. Organizations should also establish secure coding practices that emphasize the importance of not including sensitive data in error messages, following the principle of least privilege in error handling. The mitigation strategies align with the ATT&CK technique T1068 - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, as the vulnerability enables attackers to obtain credentials that can be used for privilege escalation within the database environment. Furthermore, implementing proper logging and monitoring of database connection attempts and error conditions can help detect exploitation attempts and provide forensic evidence for incident response activities.