CVE-2008-4448 in H-Sphere
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in actions.php in Positive Software H-Sphere WebShell 4.3.10 allows remote attackers to perform unauthorized actions as an administrator, including file deletion and creation, via a link or IMG tag to the (1) overkill, (2) futils, or (3) edit actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/10/2018
The CVE-2008-4448 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the H-Sphere WebShell 4.3.10 product developed by Positive Software. This vulnerability resides within the actions.php script and fundamentally compromises the authentication and authorization mechanisms that protect administrative functions within the web application. The flaw enables remote attackers to execute unauthorized administrative operations by leveraging maliciously crafted web requests that appear legitimate to the targeted system. The vulnerability specifically affects three distinct actions: overkill, futils, and edit, which collectively provide attackers with extensive capabilities to manipulate the system's file structure and potentially compromise the entire web hosting environment.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability stems from the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the affected web application. The actions.php script fails to validate the origin of requests or implement anti-CSRF tokens that would ensure requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions. This absence creates a condition where an attacker can construct malicious links or image tags that, when clicked by an authenticated administrator, automatically execute the targeted administrative functions. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and exploits the trust relationship between the web server and authenticated users, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no additional credentials or privileges beyond those of a legitimate administrator.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the affected system. The ability to perform file deletion and creation operations means that attackers can fundamentally alter or destroy critical system files, potentially leading to complete system compromise or data loss. Additionally, the vulnerability's exploitation does not require any specialized knowledge of the underlying system architecture, making it accessible to attackers with minimal technical expertise. The implications are particularly severe in hosting environments where multiple customers share the same infrastructure, as a compromised administrative account could potentially affect numerous websites and users simultaneously.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and insufficient session management practices that violate fundamental security principles. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence within the target environment, as attackers can use the administrative capabilities to establish long-term access and maintain control over compromised systems. The exploitation pathway also relates to initial access techniques that leverage web application vulnerabilities to gain elevated privileges, making it a critical concern for organizations relying on web-based administrative interfaces.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the affected application. The most effective approach involves implementing anti-CSRF tokens that are generated for each user session and validated with every administrative request. These tokens should be unique per session and properly embedded within all forms and requests that modify system state. Additionally, organizations should implement strict referer header validation and consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning to identify similar weaknesses in other applications within the attack surface. Organizations should also ensure that all web applications are regularly updated and patched, as this vulnerability existed in a specific version of the software that likely contained other unpatched security issues.