CVE-2008-4909 in CompactCMS
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in CompactCMS 1.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to perform unauthorized actions as legitimate users via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/26/2017
The CVE-2008-4909 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw identified in CompactCMS versions 1.1 and earlier, exposing web applications to unauthorized manipulation by remote attackers. This vulnerability operates within the realm of web application security where user sessions and authentication mechanisms are compromised through deceptive requests originating from malicious third parties. The flaw enables attackers to execute actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent, fundamentally undermining the integrity of user sessions and application access controls.
This CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request validation mechanisms within CompactCMS, particularly in how the application processes and verifies incoming requests. The vulnerability manifests when legitimate users visit malicious websites or click on compromised links that trigger unauthorized actions on the vulnerable CMS platform. The attack vector operates through the exploitation of the user's existing authenticated session, leveraging the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser. Without implementing robust anti-CSRF measures such as token validation or referer header checks, the CMS fails to distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and maliciously crafted ones.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to encompass potential full account compromise and unauthorized administrative actions. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform critical operations such as changing user passwords, modifying content, deleting files, or even gaining administrative privileges within the CMS environment. The implications are particularly severe for content management systems where users may have elevated permissions, as the vulnerability allows for privilege escalation and persistent unauthorized access. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can result in complete system compromise when combined with other exploitation techniques.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation through web application exploitation. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that CSRF attacks often exploit user trust and can be delivered through various channels including email phishing campaigns, compromised websites, or social engineering tactics. The lack of proper CSRF protection mechanisms in CompactCMS 1.1 and earlier versions creates a persistent security gap that remains exploitable as long as the vulnerable software remains in use.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-4909 should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection measures such as the inclusion of unique, unpredictable tokens in all state-changing requests. The recommended approach involves generating and validating anti-CSRF tokens for each user session, ensuring that these tokens are properly embedded in forms and verified on the server-side before processing any sensitive operations. Additionally, implementing proper referer header validation and using the SameSite cookie attributes can provide additional layers of protection against such attacks. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems and implement comprehensive security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications. Regular security audits and code reviews focusing on authentication and session management mechanisms will help prevent similar CSRF vulnerabilities from emerging in future software deployments.