CVE-2009-4827 in Mail Manager Pro
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in admin.php in Mail Manager Pro allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that change the admin password via a change action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/26/2024
The CVE-2009-4827 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the Mail Manager Pro application's administrative interface. This vulnerability specifically affects the admin.php script where administrators manage email services and configurations. The flaw stems from the application's inadequate validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the administrative password change functionality. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web pages or emails that, when visited or opened by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to modify the administrator's password without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the absence of cryptographic tokens or origin validation mechanisms that would normally prevent unauthorized requests from being executed in the context of an authenticated session. When an administrator visits a malicious page or clicks on a crafted link, the browser automatically submits a request to the vulnerable admin.php script with parameters that modify administrative credentials. This occurs because the application fails to verify that the request originated from the legitimate administrative interface rather than from an external malicious source. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and leverages the trust relationship between the web application and the authenticated administrator's browser session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it directly compromises the administrative integrity of the Mail Manager Pro system. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can completely take control of the administrative account, gaining full access to email configurations, user management, message filtering rules, and potentially sensitive email data. This unauthorized access could lead to data exfiltration, message manipulation, account impersonation, and complete system compromise. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to silently change administrative passwords, making detection difficult and providing persistent access to the compromised system. The attack requires minimal user interaction beyond visiting a malicious page, making it highly effective in social engineering campaigns.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms including the use of unique, unpredictable tokens for each administrative request that are validated server-side before processing. Organizations should ensure that all administrative functions require proper origin validation and implement time-based tokens that expire after a short period. The application should also enforce strict session management controls and implement proper input validation for all administrative parameters. Security measures should include logging all administrative actions for monitoring and alerting purposes, as well as implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts to add additional layers of protection. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and falls under ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for social engineering attacks through malicious web content. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in their email management systems.