CVE-2007-5441 in CMS Made Simple
Summary
by MITRE
CMS Made Simple 1.1.3.1 does not check the permissions assigned to users in some situations, which allows remote authenticated users to perform some administrative actions, as demonstrated by (1) adding a user via a direct request to admin/adduser.php and (2) reading the admin log via an "admin/adminlog.php?page=1" request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-5441 affects CMS Made Simple version 1.1.3.1, representing a critical authorization flaw that undermines the application's security model. This issue stems from insufficient permission validation mechanisms within the content management system, creating a scenario where authenticated users can escalate their privileges and execute administrative functions without proper authorization. The vulnerability specifically manifests in situations where the application fails to verify user roles and permissions before processing administrative requests, effectively bypassing the intended access control measures that should prevent unauthorized modification of system parameters.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the lack of proper access control checks in two distinct administrative endpoints. The first vector involves direct requests to admin/adduser.php where authenticated users can add new administrative accounts without possessing the necessary privileges to perform such operations. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability where users can expand their access rights within the system. The second vector demonstrates the exposure of sensitive administrative information through requests to admin/adminlog.php?page=1, where users can access administrative logs that should only be visible to authorized administrators. These endpoints lack proper authentication checks to verify that the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges to access the requested functionality.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, creating a significant risk to system integrity and data confidentiality. An attacker who gains access to any authenticated user account can potentially elevate their privileges to administrative level, gaining complete control over user management, content modification, and access to sensitive system logs. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege, allowing users to perform actions that should be restricted to system administrators only. The exposure of administrative logs through the second vector provides attackers with valuable information about system activities, user behavior, and potential security gaps that could be exploited in subsequent attacks.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in software security design. The flaw demonstrates how insufficient input validation and access control checks can create security holes that allow privilege escalation and unauthorized information disclosure. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation through access token manipulation and credential access through exploitation of weak access controls. The vulnerability also reflects poor security architecture practices where the application fails to implement proper role-based access control mechanisms, making it susceptible to unauthorized administrative actions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper access control validation throughout the CMS Made Simple application. Organizations should ensure that all administrative endpoints perform comprehensive permission checks before executing any privileged operations, including verifying user roles and access levels against predefined security policies. The system should implement robust authentication checks that validate the requesting user's privileges for each specific action they attempt to perform. Regular security audits should be conducted to identify similar access control flaws in other parts of the application, while also implementing proper logging and monitoring of administrative activities to detect unauthorized access attempts. Additionally, upgrading to a patched version of CMS Made Simple that addresses this specific vulnerability is essential, as the original version contains fundamental security flaws that cannot be adequately mitigated through workarounds alone.