CVE-2009-0461 in Password Protect
Summary
by MITRE
Whole Hog Password Protect: Enhanced 1.x allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and obtain administrative access via an integer value in the adminid cookie.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-0461 affects the Whole Hog Password Protect: Enhanced plugin version 1.x, representing a critical authentication bypass flaw that enables remote attackers to escalate privileges without proper authorization. This issue stems from improper input validation within the cookie handling mechanism, specifically targeting the adminid cookie parameter that governs administrative access controls. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly validate or sanitize integer values passed through the adminid cookie, allowing attackers to manipulate this parameter and assume administrative privileges.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the adminid cookie value, which typically contains an integer identifier representing administrative user sessions. When the application processes this cookie value without adequate validation, it accepts any integer input as legitimate administrative credentials. This represents a classic case of insufficient input sanitization and validation, falling under CWE-20 which addresses improper input validation in software systems. The flaw essentially allows attackers to craft malicious cookie values that bypass the normal authentication flow, effectively granting them full administrative control over the affected system.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security implications for any website or application utilizing the vulnerable plugin. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness to gain complete administrative access, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, and unauthorized modifications to website content or configuration settings. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no local access or prior credentials, making it an attractive target for automated exploitation tools. The vulnerability directly impacts the principle of least privilege and authentication integrity, as it allows unauthorized users to bypass established security controls. This type of authentication bypass aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts usage and privilege escalation through compromised credentials or manipulated session identifiers.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of the affected plugin to version 1.1 or later, which addresses the integer validation issue in cookie handling. Organizations should implement proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms that reject or normalize non-numeric values in administrative cookie parameters. Additionally, cookie security settings should be enhanced through the use of secure flags, HttpOnly attributes, and proper session management practices. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional detection and prevention capabilities. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other components of the system architecture. The remediation process should also include monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns and implementing proper access logging to detect unauthorized access attempts. Organizations should consider implementing multi-factor authentication mechanisms as an additional layer of security to reduce the impact of credential compromise vulnerabilities like this one.