CVE-2008-3292 in EZWebAlbum
Summary
by MITRE
constants.inc in EZWebAlbum 1.0 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain administrator privileges by setting the photoalbumadmin cookie, as demonstrated via addpage.php.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-3292 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw in EZWebAlbum version 1.0 that directly enables unauthorized administrative access. This issue stems from improper validation of administrative privileges within the application's cookie handling mechanism, specifically in the constants.inc file which serves as a core configuration component. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to manipulate the photoalbumadmin cookie value to escalate their privileges from regular user to administrator level, effectively circumventing the application's built-in access control measures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of session cookies that are used to maintain administrative status within the web application. When an attacker accesses the addpage.php endpoint, they can set the photoalbumadmin cookie to a value that grants them administrative rights without proper authentication. This flaw demonstrates a classic case of insufficient input validation and improper privilege management, where the application fails to verify the legitimacy of administrative cookie values before granting access to privileged functions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows remote exploitation without requiring any prior authentication credentials or knowledge of valid user accounts.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant security risk for any organization using EZWebAlbum 1.0, as it enables complete administrative control over the web application. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can perform any administrative function including adding, modifying, or deleting content, managing user accounts, accessing sensitive data, and potentially using the compromised system as a foothold for further attacks within the network. The remote nature of the exploit means that attackers do not need physical access to the system or network, making this vulnerability particularly attractive for cybercriminals seeking to compromise web applications.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues in software applications, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing attacks that may leverage this weakness. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including patching the application to version 1.1 or later, implementing proper cookie validation mechanisms, and monitoring for unauthorized administrative cookie manipulation attempts. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities, while regular security audits should be conducted to identify similar privilege escalation flaws in other web applications. The incident underscores the importance of proper session management and authentication controls in web applications, particularly those handling user-generated content and administrative functions.