CVE-2009-3580 in SQL-Ledger
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in am.pl in SQL-Ledger 2.8.24 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that change a password via the login, new_password, and confirm_password parameters in a preferences action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2019
The CVE-2009-3580 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in SQL-Ledger version 2.8.24 that enables remote attackers to manipulate user authentication sessions through crafted malicious requests. This vulnerability specifically targets the am.pl script within the application's preferences functionality, where it accepts login credentials, new password values, and confirmation parameters without proper validation mechanisms. The flaw exists in the application's failure to implement adequate anti-CSRF token verification, allowing attackers to construct malicious web pages or email attachments that can execute unauthorized password change operations on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's lack of request origin validation and absence of anti-CSRF tokens in the password modification workflow. When legitimate users navigate to the preferences page and submit password change requests, the system processes these requests without verifying that they originated from the intended source. Attackers can exploit this by creating malicious web pages that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable am.pl endpoint using the victim's authenticated browser session, effectively hijacking their authentication context. The vulnerability specifically leverages the login, new_password, and confirm_password parameters within the preferences action, making it particularly dangerous as it allows complete password replacement without requiring knowledge of the current password.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security risks for SQL-Ledger users who may have their accounts compromised through social engineering or drive-by attacks. The successful exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability can result in complete account takeover scenarios where attackers gain unauthorized control over user accounts, potentially leading to data breaches, unauthorized transactions, or further lateral movement within network environments. The vulnerability affects the authentication integrity of the application, undermining the fundamental security principle of user session management and authorization controls. Given that SQL-Ledger is typically used for financial and accounting applications, the potential for financial fraud or data manipulation increases substantially when user credentials are compromised through this vector.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation through session hijacking and authentication bypass methods. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including the immediate deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations, implementation of proper referer header validation, and enforcement of same-site cookies for session management. Additionally, the application should enforce strict input validation and implement proper session management controls that verify request authenticity through cryptographic tokens or other secure mechanisms. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive user authentication data. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing robust security controls to prevent exploitation of known weaknesses in legacy applications.