CVE-2010-0638 in WebCalendar
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in WebCalendar 1.2.0 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that change the administrative password via unknown vectors. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-0638 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within WebCalendar version 1.2.0 that specifically targets administrative authentication mechanisms. This CSRF vulnerability enables remote attackers to manipulate administrative accounts by exploiting the lack of proper validation for requests that modify administrative passwords. The flaw exists in the web application's failure to implement adequate anti-CSRF protection measures, creating a scenario where authenticated administrative sessions can be hijacked through maliciously crafted requests that appear legitimate to the target system.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or similar validation mechanisms within the administrative password change functionality. When administrators perform password modification operations, the application does not verify the authenticity of the request source or validate that the request originated from the legitimate administrative interface. This allows attackers to construct malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in other applications to submit forged requests that leverage the administrator's authenticated session. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the authentication state management within the web calendar system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it directly compromises administrative access to the WebCalendar system. Successful exploitation would enable attackers to change administrative passwords without authorization, potentially leading to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to all calendar data, user information, and system configurations. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the web calendar system, as attackers could not only modify administrative credentials but also potentially access sensitive data and perform unauthorized administrative actions. This represents a significant risk to organizations relying on WebCalendar for calendar management and collaboration.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms including the use of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each administrative request. The application should enforce strict origin validation and implement proper session management controls to ensure that requests originate from legitimate sources within the application. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing Content Security Policy headers, using SameSite cookies for session management, and ensuring that administrative functions require multi-factor authentication. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and represents a technique that could be categorized under ATT&CK tactic TA0001 (Initial Access) through the exploitation of authentication mechanisms. Regular security audits and input validation procedures should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future versions of the application.