CVE-2008-0164 in Plone
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Plone CMS 3.0.5 and 3.0.6 allow remote attackers to (1) add arbitrary accounts via the join_form page and (2) change the privileges of arbitrary groups via the prefs_groups_overview page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2018
The CVE-2008-0164 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Plone CMS versions 3.0.5 and 3.0.6 that fundamentally undermines the application's security model. This vulnerability class falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions where attackers can trick authenticated users into executing unintended actions. The flaw manifests in two distinct attack vectors that together provide adversaries with significant administrative capabilities within the affected system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the absence of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms in two critical administrative pages of the Plone CMS. The join_form page, designed for user registration, becomes a vector for attackers to create arbitrary accounts without proper authentication, while the prefs_groups_overview page allows manipulation of group privileges without adequate validation. Both pages lack the necessary anti-CSRF tokens or similar protective measures that would normally verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative interfaces.
Operationally, this vulnerability creates a severe risk landscape for organizations using affected Plone versions. Attackers can leverage this flaw to establish unauthorized accounts with potentially elevated privileges, effectively bypassing the CMS's access control mechanisms. The ability to modify group privileges through the prefs_groups_overview page means that even a basic user account could be elevated to administrative status, providing complete control over the content management system. This represents a classic privilege escalation scenario that aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1484 for Domain Policy Modification.
The impact extends beyond immediate unauthorized access, as successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise through the creation of backdoor accounts, modification of sensitive content, or manipulation of user permissions across the entire organization's Plone instance. Organizations relying on this CMS version face significant risk of data breaches, content tampering, and potential lateral movement within their network infrastructure. The vulnerability particularly affects web applications that depend on Plone's user management and group-based access control features, making it a critical concern for enterprises utilizing this content management solution.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-0164 require immediate patching of affected Plone installations to versions that include proper CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive CSRF token validation across all administrative pages and ensure that all user-facing forms include anti-CSRF protection. Additionally, network-level monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious account creation patterns and unauthorized privilege modifications. The remediation process should also include a thorough review of existing user accounts and group memberships to identify any potential exploitation that may have already occurred. Security teams must also consider implementing additional controls such as multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts and regular security audits of CMS configurations to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future.