CVE-2009-3568 in Commentrss
Summary
by MITRE
Comment RSS 5.x before 5.x-2.2 and 6.x before 6.x-2.2, a module for Drupal, does not properly enforce permissions when a link is added to the RSS feed, which allows remote attackers to obtain the node title and possibly other sensitive content by reading the feed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/22/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3568 affects the Comment RSS module within Drupal content management systems, specifically versions 5.x prior to 5.x-2.2 and 6.x prior to 6.x-2.2. This issue represents a critical permission enforcement flaw that undermines the security model of the Drupal platform. The vulnerability resides in how the Comment RSS module handles access control when generating RSS feed content, creating an avenue for unauthorized information disclosure that directly impacts the confidentiality of sensitive data within Drupal installations.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient validation of user permissions within the Comment RSS module's feed generation process. When users add links to RSS feeds, the module fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has adequate permissions to access the associated node content. This permission bypass allows remote attackers to construct malicious requests that retrieve node titles and potentially other sensitive information from the feed without proper authentication. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited through standard HTTP requests to the affected RSS endpoints, making it particularly dangerous as it requires minimal technical expertise to execute.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially compromise the entire security posture of affected Drupal installations. Attackers can systematically harvest node titles and other content metadata from RSS feeds, which may contain sensitive information about content structure, user activities, or even internal system details that could aid in further exploitation. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the access control mechanisms that Drupal relies upon to protect sensitive content. The impact is particularly severe for organizations that use Drupal for content management with varying levels of user access, as the vulnerability allows attackers to bypass the normal permission hierarchy and access content they should not be authorized to view.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to the patched versions of the Comment RSS module as specified in the affected versions. The recommended remediation involves applying the official Drupal security updates that address the permission enforcement flaw. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing network-level restrictions to limit access to RSS feed endpoints where possible, though this should not be considered a substitute for the proper software updates. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns to RSS feed endpoints, and organizations should review their overall access control configurations to ensure that the vulnerability cannot be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1005 for data from local system, as it enables unauthorized access to content that should remain protected. The security implications of this vulnerability underscore the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software and proper access control configurations in web applications.