CVE-2008-6293 in Acc Real Estate
Summary
by MITRE
admin/Index.php in Acc Real Estate 4.0 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain administrative access by setting the username_cookie to "admin."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/10/2024
This vulnerability exists in the Acc Real Estate 4.0 web application where the administrative interface suffers from a critical authentication bypass flaw. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and insecure session management practices within the admin/Index.php component. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness by manipulating the username_cookie parameter to arbitrary values, specifically setting it to "admin" which grants unauthorized access to administrative functions without proper credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insecure authentication handling where the application fails to properly validate session tokens or authentication states. When the username_cookie is set to "admin", the system incorrectly assumes administrative privileges without performing proper authentication checks. This represents a direct violation of security principle where the application trusts client-side input without proper server-side validation, creating a path for privilege escalation attacks.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability allows attackers to gain full administrative control over the real estate management system. Once authenticated, malicious actors can modify property listings, access sensitive client data, alter system configurations, and potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system as attackers can manipulate data, disrupt services, and maintain persistent access. This issue particularly impacts organizations managing real estate data where sensitive personal and financial information may be stored.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems. It also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation through unauthorized access to administrative functions. The flaw represents a dangerous security gap that could be exploited in automated scanning campaigns targeting web applications, making it particularly attractive to threat actors seeking persistent access to business-critical systems.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including input validation for all cookie parameters, proper session management with secure token generation, and authentication state verification. The recommended approach involves implementing server-side validation of authentication tokens, using secure random session identifiers, and ensuring that administrative access requires proper credential verification before granting elevated privileges. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and regular security testing can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The system should also enforce proper access controls and audit all administrative activities to detect unauthorized access attempts.