CVE-2008-0169 in ikiwiki
Summary
by MITRE
Plugin/passwordauth.pm (aka the passwordauth plugin) in ikiwiki 1.34 through 2.47 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication, and login to any account for which an OpenID identity is configured and a password is not configured, by specifying an empty password during the login sequence.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/11/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-0169 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within the ikiwiki content management system. This issue affects versions ranging from 1.34 through 2.47 and stems from improper validation of login credentials within the passwordauth plugin component. The flaw specifically targets systems where users have configured OpenID identities but have not established traditional password authentication mechanisms, creating a dangerous gap in the authentication framework.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits a design weakness in how the passwordauth plugin processes login requests. When a user attempts to authenticate using the OpenID identity, the system fails to properly validate whether a password has been configured for that particular account. An attacker can exploit this by submitting an empty password field during the authentication sequence, effectively allowing unauthorized access to accounts that rely solely on OpenID authentication without password protection. This represents a fundamental failure in credential validation that violates standard security practices for authentication systems.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for ikiwiki installations that utilize OpenID authentication. Attackers can gain unauthorized access to any account configured with OpenID identity but lacking password authentication, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users without requiring knowledge of actual passwords, making detection more difficult and increasing the potential for data manipulation or unauthorized modifications to wiki content. This flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege and authentication integrity.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting. Organizations using affected versions of ikiwiki should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to patched versions, enforcing password requirements for all accounts, or disabling OpenID authentication where password authentication is not properly configured. Additionally, system administrators should conduct comprehensive audits of authentication configurations to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across their infrastructure. The security community should also consider implementing automated monitoring for such authentication bypass patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts.
This vulnerability highlights the importance of thorough credential validation across all authentication mechanisms and demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws can create substantial security risks in content management systems. The flaw serves as a reminder of the critical need for comprehensive security testing of authentication components, particularly in systems that support multiple authentication methods. Organizations should prioritize regular security assessments of their authentication frameworks and maintain up-to-date patch management processes to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in the future.