CVE-2007-5259 in SysAid
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Ilient SysAid 4.5.03 and 4.5.04 allows remote attackers to perform some actions as administrators, as demonstrated by changing the administrator password. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/09/2018
The CVE-2007-5259 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Ilient SysAid versions 4.5.03 and 4.5.04, which fundamentally undermines the application's security model by allowing unauthorized remote attackers to execute administrative actions on behalf of legitimate users. This vulnerability operates at the core of web application security principles, exploiting the trust relationship between the application and its users without proper validation mechanisms. The flaw specifically enables attackers to manipulate administrative functions through crafted requests that appear legitimate to the targeted system, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where system integrity is paramount.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request origin validation and anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the SysAid application's administrative interfaces. When administrators perform actions such as password changes or other privileged operations, the application fails to verify that these requests originate from authenticated users within the legitimate session context. This omission creates a pathway for attackers to construct malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that automatically execute administrative commands when an authenticated administrator visits the malicious site. The vulnerability specifically demonstrates its impact through the ability to change administrator passwords, which represents a complete compromise of system access controls and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege. The flaw aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities, and represents a classic example of how insufficient input validation and session management can lead to privilege escalation attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple password modification, as it provides attackers with potential access to sensitive system configurations, user data, and other administrative functions within the SysAid environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain complete control over the system, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, and unauthorized access to critical business information. The implications for enterprise security are severe, as administrators typically possess extensive privileges within such systems, making this vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors. The attack vector is relatively simple to implement, requiring only basic web development knowledge to construct malicious pages that leverage the application's trust relationship with authenticated users. This vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1548.002, which involves the use of legitimate credentials to escalate privileges and maintain persistent access to target systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-5259 should focus on implementing robust CSRF protection mechanisms including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all privileged operations, proper request origin validation, and session management controls. Organizations should immediately upgrade to patched versions of Ilient SysAid, as the vulnerability affects specific versions that are no longer supported. Additional protective measures include implementing Content Security Policy headers, using secure session management practices, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications. The incident highlights the importance of proper input validation and the need for comprehensive security testing, particularly for applications handling administrative functions and sensitive data. Regular security training for developers regarding CSRF prevention techniques and adherence to secure coding practices remains essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future system deployments.