CVE-2008-0293 in FreeSeat
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in cron.php in FreeSeat before 1.1.5d, when format.php has certain modifications, allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain privileges via unspecified vectors related to the show_foot function.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-0293 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within the FreeSeat web application suite, specifically affecting versions prior to 1.1.5d. This issue resides within the cron.php component and becomes exploitable when format.php undergoes certain modifications, creating a dangerous intersection of code manipulation and privilege escalation opportunities. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple access control bypass to potentially enable full administrative privileges within the affected system, making it particularly concerning for organizations relying on this open-source ticketing solution.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and authentication checks within the show_foot function, which operates in conjunction with the modified format.php file. When attackers manipulate the format.php file to include specific modifications, they can exploit the interaction between these components to circumvent the normal authentication mechanisms that should prevent unauthorized access to administrative functions. This flaw operates at the application logic level and demonstrates a failure in proper privilege separation, allowing unauthenticated users to potentially execute administrative operations through carefully crafted requests that exploit the weakened authentication flow.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system functions without requiring valid credentials. This authentication bypass can lead to complete system compromise, allowing attackers to modify or delete critical data, manipulate user accounts, and potentially establish persistent access within the network. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not need physical access to the system or knowledge of internal network structures to leverage this weakness, making it particularly dangerous in publicly accessible environments. Organizations using FreeSeat versions prior to 1.1.5d face significant risk of data breaches and system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of the vendor-supplied patch version 1.1.5d, which addresses the authentication bypass flaw through proper input validation and privilege enforcement mechanisms. System administrators should also implement network-level controls such as firewall rules to restrict access to the affected web application, particularly limiting access to trusted IP ranges only. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security audits of their FreeSeat installations to identify any potential exploitation attempts and ensure that all modifications to core application files are properly validated and monitored. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1566 (Phishing) as attackers may use this bypass to escalate privileges and maintain persistent access to compromised systems.