CVE-2008-6523 in openInvoice
Summary
by MITRE
auth.php in openInvoice 0.90 beta and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain privileges by setting the oiauth cookie. NOTE: this can be leveraged with a separate vulnerability in resetpass.php to modify passwords for arbitrary users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-6523 resides within the authentication mechanism of openInvoice version 0.90 beta and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the software's access control measures. This issue manifests through the manipulation of the oiauth cookie parameter, which when improperly handled by the auth.php script, allows unauthorized remote attackers to bypass the intended authentication process and escalate their privileges within the application. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the cookie validation and session management implementation, where the system fails to properly verify the authenticity and integrity of the authentication cookie before granting access rights.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a straightforward yet dangerous method of cookie manipulation. Attackers can simply set or modify the oiauth cookie value to gain unauthorized access to the system, effectively circumventing all authentication checks that should normally validate user credentials and permissions. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems, where the application fails to properly authenticate users or fails to validate authentication tokens correctly. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient session management and weak cookie validation mechanisms that allow attackers to impersonate legitimate users without proper credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can be combined with another vulnerability present in resetpass.php to enable attackers to modify passwords for arbitrary users within the system. This combination creates a particularly dangerous attack vector that allows not only unauthorized access but also account takeover and privilege escalation capabilities. The attacker can first bypass authentication using the oiauth cookie manipulation, then leverage the password reset functionality to change user credentials, effectively taking permanent control over accounts without requiring legitimate user credentials. This multi-stage attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers valid accounts obtained through password reuse, demonstrating how authentication bypass can lead to persistent access and privilege escalation.
The vulnerability highlights critical deficiencies in the application's security architecture, particularly in how it handles authentication tokens and session management. The lack of proper input validation and cryptographic verification of the oiauth cookie indicates poor implementation of security controls that should prevent such manipulation. Organizations using affected versions of openInvoice face significant risks including data breaches, unauthorized system modifications, and potential full system compromise. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can target the system from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or prior authentication. Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of the affected software to version 0.90 beta or later, implementation of proper cookie validation mechanisms, enforcement of secure session management practices, and deployment of network monitoring to detect suspicious cookie manipulation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their applications to identify similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities and implement proper access control measures aligned with security best practices and industry standards.