CVE-2008-0336 in BugTracker.NET
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in BugTracker.NET before 2.7.2 allow remote attackers to delete arbitrary bugs and perform other administrative tasks via unspecified vectors, possibly related to delete_*.aspx pages, and massedit.aspx, subscribe.aspx, flag.aspx, and relationships.aspx.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-0336 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in BugTracker.NET versions prior to 2.7.2, classified under CWE-352. This vulnerability enables remote attackers to manipulate the application's functionality through forged requests that appear to originate from authenticated users. The flaw specifically affects multiple administrative endpoints including delete_*.aspx pages and massedit.aspx, subscribe.aspx, flag.aspx, and relationships.aspx, creating a broad attack surface for unauthorized actions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the BugTracker.NET application. When users navigate to these specific pages, the application fails to validate that requests originate from legitimate sources, instead relying solely on session-based authentication without implementing tokens or other verification methods. This design flaw allows attackers to construct malicious web pages or email attachments that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable BugTracker.NET application, potentially executing administrative functions without user consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, as it grants attackers the ability to delete arbitrary bugs from the issue tracking system and perform various administrative tasks that could compromise the integrity of the entire bug tracking environment. An attacker could systematically delete critical bug reports, manipulate issue relationships, modify user subscriptions, or alter flag statuses, potentially disrupting development workflows and compromising the reliability of the bug tracking system. The vulnerability's reach extends beyond simple data deletion to include potential data corruption and system integrity compromise.
Organizations utilizing BugTracker.NET versions prior to 2.7.2 face significant risk from this vulnerability, as it can be exploited through social engineering attacks or by embedding malicious content in compromised websites. The attack vector requires minimal technical expertise, making it particularly dangerous for widespread exploitation. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation and persistence techniques, as it allows unauthorized access to administrative functions that could be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to BugTracker.NET version 2.7.2 or later, which includes proper CSRF protection mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and authentication checks across all administrative endpoints. The fix typically involves implementing anti-CSRF tokens that are generated for each user session and validated on every administrative request. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative activities can provide additional layers of defense, while user education regarding suspicious web content can help prevent successful exploitation attempts. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications within their infrastructure.