CVE-2008-1727 in KnowledgeQuest
Summary
by MITRE
KnowledgeQuest 2.5 and 2.6 does not require authentication for access to admincheck.php, which allows remote attackers to create arbitrary admin accounts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/20/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1727 affects KnowledgeQuest versions 2.5 and 2.6, representing a critical authentication bypass flaw that undermines the security posture of the affected web application. This vulnerability resides in the admincheck.php component which fails to enforce proper authentication mechanisms, creating an exploitable condition that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain administrative privileges within the system. The flaw essentially removes the necessary access controls that should prevent unauthorized users from accessing administrative functions, thereby creating a backdoor for malicious actors to establish persistent control over the application.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control enforcement within the KnowledgeQuest application architecture. When users attempt to access the admincheck.php file, the system does not properly verify whether the requesting user possesses valid administrative credentials before granting access. This represents a classic failure in the principle of least privilege, where the application assumes that any user with network access can perform administrative operations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, specifically focusing on the absence of proper authentication checks in critical administrative functions. Attackers can exploit this by simply accessing the admincheck.php endpoint directly, bypassing normal authentication procedures and immediately gaining the ability to create new administrative accounts with full system privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the KnowledgeQuest application and potentially the underlying system. Once an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can create arbitrary admin accounts, modify existing user permissions, access sensitive data, and manipulate the application's configuration settings. This level of access allows for persistent presence within the system, enabling long-term surveillance and data exfiltration activities. The vulnerability also creates a significant risk for data integrity and confidentiality, as administrative privileges typically grant access to all system functions and data repositories within the application. From an attack chain perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting, as the attacker can establish legitimate administrative access without needing to compromise additional credentials.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching and access control reinforcement. Organizations must update to patched versions of KnowledgeQuest that properly implement authentication requirements for admincheck.php and other administrative endpoints. The implementation should include proper session management, multi-factor authentication where applicable, and strict access control lists that verify user credentials before granting administrative privileges. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to administrative endpoints to only trusted IP addresses and authenticated users. Additionally, regular security audits should be conducted to ensure that no other similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities exist within the application. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing robust authentication mechanisms and adhering to security best practices such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten, specifically addressing authentication and access control weaknesses that can lead to complete system compromise.