CVE-2008-3716 in Harmoni
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Harmoni before 1.6.0 allows remote attackers to make administrative modifications via a (1) save or (2) delete action to an unspecified component.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2018
The CVE-2008-3716 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the Harmoni platform prior to version 1.6.0. This vulnerability resides within the web application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, specifically affecting administrative functions that should require proper user validation before execution. The flaw enables malicious actors to perform unauthorized administrative actions by exploiting the absence of proper CSRF protection measures in the application's request handling process.
This vulnerability operates through a fundamental weakness in the application's session management and request validation procedures. The Harmoni platform fails to implement adequate anti-CSRF tokens or similar protective mechanisms when processing administrative save and delete operations. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, will perform unintended administrative actions without the user's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability affects an unspecified component within the platform, suggesting it may impact multiple administrative functions rather than being limited to a single module.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and potentially catastrophic for organizations using affected Harmoni versions. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability could gain unauthorized administrative access to modify or delete critical system components, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data loss, or unauthorized access to sensitive information. Administrative functions typically involve system configuration changes, user management, and data manipulation capabilities that, when compromised, provide attackers with extensive control over the platform's operations and security posture. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur without requiring physical access to the system or direct network connection to the target server.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates a failure to implement proper input validation and request integrity checks that are fundamental requirements in secure software development practices. The attack pattern corresponds to techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation and persistence categories, where attackers leverage application-level vulnerabilities to gain elevated system access. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens, proper request validation, and session management controls. The remediation process requires updating to Harmoni version 1.6.0 or later, which includes proper CSRF protection mechanisms, along with implementing additional security controls such as Content Security Policy headers and proper input sanitization to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other application components.