CVE-2008-7219 in Kronolith H3
Summary
by MITRE
Horde Kronolith H3 2.1 before 2.1.7 and 2.2 before 2.2-RC2; Nag H3 2.1 before 2.1.4 and 2.2 before 2.2-RC2; Mnemo H3 2.1 before 2.1.2 and H3 2.2 before 2.2-RC2; Groupware 1.0 before 1.0.3 and 1.1 before 1.1-RC2; and Groupware Webmail Edition 1.0 before 1.0.4 and 1.1 before 1.1-RC2 does not validate ownership when performing share changes, which has unknown impact and attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/22/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-7219 represents a critical access control flaw affecting multiple components of the Horde Groupware suite including Kronolith calendar, Nag task management, Mnemo notes, and Groupware Webmail Edition. This issue stems from insufficient validation of user ownership when processing share change operations, creating a scenario where unauthorized individuals could potentially manipulate shared resources within the system. The vulnerability affects versions prior to specific release points including Kronolith 2.1.7 and 2.2-RC2, Nag 2.1.4 and 2.2-RC2, Mnemo 2.1.2 and 2.2-RC2, Groupware 1.0.3 and 1.1-RC2, and Groupware Webmail Edition 1.0.4 and 1.1-RC2, indicating a widespread impact across the Horde ecosystem. The lack of ownership validation during share modifications creates a privilege escalation vector that could allow malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to shared calendar entries, tasks, notes, or other collaborative resources. This flaw directly violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and access control enforcement, as the system fails to verify that the requesting user has legitimate ownership rights over the resources being modified.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it within the scope of CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems. When share change operations are performed without proper ownership validation, the system essentially allows any authenticated user to modify shared objects regardless of their relationship to those objects. This creates potential attack vectors where an attacker could manipulate shared calendar events to include malicious links, modify meeting times to disrupt scheduling, or alter task assignments to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. The unknown impact and attack vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the consequences could range from simple data manipulation to more severe security breaches depending on how the shared resources are utilized within organizational environments. The vulnerability particularly affects collaborative environments where multiple users share calendar entries, tasks, or notes, making it especially dangerous in enterprise settings where sensitive business information is frequently shared among teams.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data integrity concerns to encompass potential privacy violations and unauthorized information disclosure. Organizations relying on Horde Groupware for collaborative work environments face significant risks when this vulnerability exists, as it could enable attackers to access shared resources belonging to other users, potentially exposing confidential scheduling information, task assignments, or personal notes. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and credential access tactics, where an initial foothold could be used to expand access to additional shared resources. The vulnerability could also facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as social engineering campaigns that leverage access to shared calendar information to craft targeted phishing attacks or insider threat scenarios. Organizations with extensive use of shared resources within the Horde Groupware environment would experience the most severe impact, as the vulnerability could allow attackers to systematically gain access to multiple shared objects across different user accounts.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must focus on immediate remediation through software updates to the patched versions specified in the CVE description, as well as implementing additional access control measures. Organizations should prioritize updating all affected Horde Groupware components to their respective patched versions to eliminate the vulnerability at its source. Beyond patching, administrators should review existing share configurations and implement additional monitoring for unauthorized share modifications, particularly focusing on changes made during non-standard hours or by users with unusual access patterns. The implementation of proper access control logging and audit trails can help detect exploitation attempts before they result in significant damage. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the scope of potential exploitation, particularly in environments where multiple users have administrative privileges within the Horde Groupware system. Regular security assessments of shared resource configurations and user access rights can help identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper access control validation in collaborative software environments and the potential consequences of insufficient ownership validation mechanisms.