CVE-2009-0039 in Geronimo
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the web administration console in Apache Geronimo Application Server 2.1 through 2.1.3 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) change the web administration password, (2) upload applications, and perform unspecified other administrative actions, as demonstrated by (3) a Shutdown request to console/portal//Server/Shutdown.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/02/2025
The CVE-2009-0039 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Apache Geronimo Application Server versions 2.1 through 2.1.3. This vulnerability resides within the web administration console component of the server, which serves as the primary interface for administrative tasks and configuration management. The flaw fundamentally compromises the security model of the application server by allowing unauthorized actors to perform administrative actions without proper authentication. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication mechanism of the web administration console, where legitimate administrative sessions can be hijacked through carefully crafted malicious requests that exploit the absence of proper CSRF protection measures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the lack of anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the administrative console's request processing. When administrators interact with the web console, their authentication session remains active and valid for extended periods. However, without proper CSRF protection, malicious actors can construct specially formatted requests that, when triggered through social engineering or by persuading administrators to visit malicious websites, automatically execute administrative functions within the context of the authenticated session. The vulnerability affects multiple critical administrative operations including password changes, application uploads, and server shutdown commands, demonstrating the broad scope of potential impact. This flaw operates at the application layer and directly violates the principle of least privilege by enabling unauthorized modification of critical system components.
The operational impact of CVE-2009-0039 is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with elevated privileges within the application server environment. Successful exploitation allows remote attackers to execute administrative functions that could result in complete system compromise, service disruption, data exfiltration, or unauthorized application deployment. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on Apache Geronimo for enterprise application hosting, as it provides a pathway for attackers to gain control over critical infrastructure components. The demonstration of the shutdown functionality in the exploit shows that attackers can potentially bring down entire server instances, leading to denial of service conditions that could severely impact business operations and availability. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the web administration console. Organizations should implement anti-CSRF tokens that are generated for each user session and validated on every administrative request, ensuring that requests originate from legitimate administrative interfaces rather than malicious third-party sites. The recommended approach aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which addresses the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities for privilege escalation and unauthorized access. Additionally, administrators should ensure that the Apache Geronimo server is updated to versions that have addressed this vulnerability, as the affected versions 2.1 through 2.1.3 are no longer supported and contain multiple security weaknesses beyond this CSRF flaw. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of the administration console to trusted networks only, while regular security audits should verify that proper authentication and authorization mechanisms are in place to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future development cycles.