CVE-2008-7046 in Free Polling Script
Summary
by MITRE
AJ Square Free Polling Script (AJPoll) allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and create new polls via a direct request to admin/include/newpoll.php, a different vector than CVE-2008-7045. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-7046 affects the AJ Square Free Polling Script (AJPoll) version 1.0, representing a critical authentication bypass flaw that undermines the security posture of web applications. This issue specifically targets the administrative functionality of the polling system, allowing unauthorized remote attackers to gain elevated privileges and create new polls without proper authentication. The vulnerability exists within the application's access control mechanisms, where the administrative interface lacks proper authorization checks for the newpoll.php endpoint. Unlike CVE-2008-7045 which addressed a different authentication bypass vector, this flaw specifically exploits the direct request capability to the admin/include/newpoll.php file, making it a distinct and potentially more severe security weakness.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control enforcement within the AJPoll application's administrative components. When a remote attacker sends a direct HTTP request to the admin/include/newpoll.php endpoint, the application fails to verify whether the requesting user possesses valid administrative credentials. This represents a classic lack of proper authentication checks, which can be categorized under CWE-285: Improper Authorization. The flaw allows attackers to bypass the normal authentication flow that should occur before accessing administrative functions, effectively granting them full administrative privileges. The vulnerability manifests as a failure in the application's security model where the authorization layer is either missing or improperly implemented, enabling unauthorized access to privileged functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with the ability to manipulate the polling system's core functionality. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can create entirely new polls, potentially leading to data integrity issues, denial of service through excessive resource consumption, or even information disclosure if the new polls contain sensitive data. The ability to create polls directly without proper authentication means that malicious actors can flood the system with irrelevant content, disrupt legitimate polling activities, or potentially inject malicious content into the polling framework. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability and integrity of the polling system's data, as it allows unauthorized modifications to the application's core functionality through the administrative interface.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must focus on implementing proper authentication and authorization controls within the application's administrative components. The primary solution involves adding robust access control checks to the admin/include/newpoll.php endpoint, ensuring that only authenticated administrative users can access this functionality. This includes implementing session management controls, proper credential verification, and enforcing authorization rules before allowing access to administrative functions. Organizations should also consider implementing input validation and request filtering to prevent direct access to administrative endpoints. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to the principle of least privilege, where administrative functions are only accessible to users with appropriate authorization. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and can be classified under T1078: Valid Accounts and T1566: Phishing, as it represents an unauthorized access vector that allows attackers to assume administrative roles within the application.
The security implications of this vulnerability extend to the broader context of web application security and highlight the critical importance of proper access control implementation. Applications that fail to enforce proper authentication checks for administrative functions create opportunities for attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive functionality. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the need for comprehensive security testing, including penetration testing and code review processes that specifically target authentication and authorization mechanisms. Additionally, regular security updates and patch management processes are essential to address such flaws in web applications, particularly those that have been identified as having known vulnerabilities in the public domain. Organizations should also implement monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect unauthorized access attempts to administrative interfaces, which can help identify exploitation attempts and provide forensic evidence for security investigations.