CVE-2007-6763 in SAS Drug Development
Summary
by MITRE
SAS Drug Development (SDD) before 32DRG02 mishandles logout actions, which allows a user (who was previously logged in) to access resources by pressing a back or forward button in a web browser.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/14/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-6763 affects SAS Drug Development software version 32DRG02 and earlier, representing a critical session management flaw that undermines the security of web-based applications. This issue stems from improper handling of logout procedures within the web interface, creating a persistent security weakness that allows authenticated users to regain access to protected resources even after they have explicitly logged out of the system. The flaw specifically manifests when users navigate through browser history using back and forward navigation controls, exploiting a fundamental weakness in how the application manages session state and resource access control.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the application's failure to properly invalidate session tokens and clear browser cache upon user logout. When a user logs out of the SAS Drug Development system, the application does not adequately terminate the session or prevent cached pages from being accessed through browser navigation history. This behavior creates a session hijacking scenario where previously authenticated users can bypass authentication mechanisms by simply pressing the browser's back button to return to cached pages that were loaded during their authenticated session. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic failure in web application security design, where the application assumes that users will not attempt to navigate through browser history after logout, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data and functionality.
This security weakness has significant operational impact on organizations using SAS Drug Development software, particularly in regulated environments such as pharmaceutical research and development where data confidentiality and access control are paramount. The vulnerability allows unauthorized access to sensitive drug development data, research protocols, clinical trial information, and other proprietary materials that should only be accessible to authenticated users with appropriate clearance levels. Attackers could exploit this flaw to access confidential research data, potentially compromising intellectual property, violating regulatory compliance requirements, and exposing organizations to significant financial and legal risks. The impact extends beyond simple data access, as this vulnerability could enable further exploitation through privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-613, which addresses insufficient session expiration, and represents a failure in proper session management practices. From an attack framework perspective, this issue maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers credential harvesting through web application attacks, and T1078.004, which involves legitimate credentials used for lateral movement. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including proper session invalidation upon logout, disabling browser caching for authenticated pages, implementing secure session management protocols, and ensuring that all web application resources properly handle session termination. Additionally, regular security testing and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar session management vulnerabilities in other applications and systems.
The remediation approach requires developers to ensure that logout functionality properly invalidates session tokens on the server side, implements appropriate cache control headers to prevent browser caching of authenticated content, and enforces proper access controls on all application resources regardless of navigation history. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security measures such as automatic session timeouts, multi-factor authentication, and comprehensive session monitoring to detect and prevent unauthorized access attempts. Regular security awareness training for users about the risks of browser navigation after logout and proper security practices should complement technical controls to provide comprehensive protection against this class of vulnerability.