CVE-2008-5252 in MediaWiki
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Special:Import feature in MediaWiki 1.3.0 through 1.6.10, 1.12.x before 1.12.2, and 1.13.x before 1.13.3 allows remote attackers to perform unspecified actions as authenticated users via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/03/2021
The CVE-2008-5252 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within MediaWiki's Special:Import functionality across multiple version ranges. This vulnerability specifically affects MediaWiki installations running versions 1.3.0 through 1.6.10, as well as 1.12.x versions prior to 1.12.2 and 1.13.x versions before 1.13.3. The flaw resides in the Special:Import feature which is designed to allow administrators to import content from external sources into the wiki system. This particular vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent, creating a significant security risk for wiki administrators and users alike.
The technical nature of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the lack of proper authentication tokens or validation mechanisms within the Special:Import feature's request processing. When users navigate to the Special:Import page and submit requests to import content, the system should verify that the request originates from an authenticated user with proper privileges. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or exploit vectors that can trigger these import operations automatically when authenticated users visit compromised sites. This occurs because the import functionality does not adequately validate the source of requests or implement proper anti-CSRF measures such as token-based validation or referer header checks that would prevent unauthorized execution of administrative functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial for organizations relying on MediaWiki platforms, particularly those with multiple administrators or users with elevated privileges. Attackers could potentially exploit this vulnerability to perform unauthorized actions such as importing malicious content, modifying existing pages, or even executing arbitrary code if the import functionality permits execution of certain content types. The unspecified nature of the actions that can be performed through this vector suggests that the attack surface may include various administrative operations, potentially leading to complete compromise of the wiki system. This vulnerability particularly affects wikis that are publicly accessible and have active user communities, as it allows attackers to leverage authenticated sessions to perform unauthorized modifications.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of the CWE-352 framework, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities within web applications. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a privilege escalation technique, potentially enabling adversaries to gain unauthorized access to administrative functions through the exploitation of trust relationships within the MediaWiki application. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of MediaWiki, implementing proper CSRF token validation, and configuring web application firewalls to monitor for suspicious import requests. Additionally, administrators should review user permissions and implement additional access controls to limit who can access the Special:Import functionality, while monitoring system logs for unauthorized import activities that may indicate exploitation attempts.