CVE-2009-3904 in CubeCart
Summary
by MITRE
classes/session/cc_admin_session.php in CubeCart 4.3.4 does not properly restrict administrative access permissions, which allows remote attackers to bypass restrictions and gain administrative access via a HTTP request that contains an empty (1) sessID (ccAdmin cookie), (2) X_CLUSTER_CLIENT_IP header, or (3) User-Agent header.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3904 resides within the administrative session management component of CubeCart 4.3.4 e-commerce software. This flaw represents a critical access control weakness that undermines the application's security model by allowing unauthorized remote attackers to bypass legitimate administrative access controls. The vulnerability specifically affects the cc_admin_session.php file which governs administrative session handling and authentication within the CubeCart system. The issue stems from inadequate validation of session identifiers and authentication headers, creating multiple attack vectors that can be exploited by malicious actors to escalate privileges and gain full administrative control over the affected system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits three distinct pathways for session manipulation. Attackers can manipulate the ccAdmin cookie by submitting an empty sessID parameter, effectively bypassing session validation mechanisms that should enforce proper administrative authentication. Additionally, the vulnerability permits exploitation through manipulation of the X_CLUSTER_CLIENT_IP header, where an empty or improperly validated header value can be used to circumvent access restrictions. The third vector involves manipulation of the User-Agent header, allowing attackers to exploit weak input validation in the session handling logic. These attack vectors collectively demonstrate a fundamental flaw in the application's session management architecture, where multiple header-based authentication mechanisms are not properly validated or sanitized before being accepted as legitimate session identifiers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations using CubeCart 4.3.4. Successful exploitation allows attackers to gain full administrative privileges, enabling them to modify product catalogs, manipulate customer data, alter pricing structures, access sensitive financial information, and potentially install malicious code or backdoors within the application. The remote nature of this vulnerability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or local network presence to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous for online businesses. The vulnerability also represents a significant risk to business continuity and data integrity, as administrative access provides attackers with complete control over the e-commerce platform's operational functions and sensitive data repositories.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including updating to a patched version of CubeCart that addresses the session management flaws. The recommended remediation strategy involves implementing proper input validation and sanitization for all session-related headers and cookies, ensuring that empty or malformed session identifiers are rejected. Security controls should include mandatory session validation checks that enforce proper authentication before granting administrative access, along with logging and monitoring of suspicious session access attempts. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can help detect and block malicious requests attempting to exploit these header-based attack vectors. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their e-commerce platforms to identify similar session management vulnerabilities and implement proper access control mechanisms that align with industry standards such as those outlined in the CWE-284 access control weakness classification. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the credential access and persistence tactics that attackers use to establish long-term control over compromised systems.