CVE-2010-1548 in CTools
Summary
by MITRE
The auto-complete functionality in the Chaos Tool Suite (aka CTools) module 6.x before 6.x-1.4 for Drupal does not follow access restrictions, which allows remote authenticated users, with "access content" privileges, to read the title of an unpublished node via a q=ctools/autocomplete/node/ value accompanied by the first character of the node s title.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-1548 affects the Chaos Tool Suite module within the Drupal content management platform, specifically targeting versions 6.x prior to 6.x-1.4. This issue resides within the auto-complete functionality that is part of the CTools module, which provides various utility functions for Drupal developers. The flaw represents a significant access control bypass that undermines the security model of Drupal's content management system. The vulnerability specifically impacts the node auto-complete feature that is used in various administrative interfaces where users need to reference content by title. When users with "access content" privileges attempt to use the auto-complete functionality, they can exploit this weakness to access information that should remain hidden due to unpublished status.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper access control validation within the CTools module's auto-complete handler. The system fails to verify whether the requesting user has appropriate permissions to view unpublished content, despite the fact that the auto-complete endpoint should only return information that the user is authorized to access. When an authenticated user with "access content" privileges makes a request to the q=ctools/autocomplete/node/ endpoint with a specific node title character, the system returns the title of unpublished nodes without proper authorization checks. This behavior violates fundamental security principles and demonstrates a clear failure in the module's permission enforcement mechanisms. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited through standard HTTP requests, making it particularly dangerous as it requires minimal technical expertise to execute.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it allows attackers to gather intelligence about unpublished content within the Drupal system. This information gathering capability can be leveraged for further attacks, including social engineering, content mapping, and planning more sophisticated exploitation attempts. The ability to read node titles without proper authorization undermines the integrity of content management workflows and can expose sensitive information that administrators intended to keep hidden until publication. The vulnerability affects all users with "access content" privileges, which is a relatively common permission level that many legitimate users possess, making the attack surface broader than initially apparent. This weakness essentially creates a backdoor for information extraction that bypasses normal content access controls.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability include upgrading to CTools module version 6.x-1.4 or later, which contains the necessary access control fixes. Organizations should also implement proper security monitoring to detect unusual patterns of auto-complete requests that might indicate exploitation attempts. The fix addresses the core issue by implementing proper access control checks before returning any node information, ensuring that users can only see content they are authorized to access. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1213.002, which involves data from information repositories, as it allows unauthorized access to content stored within the system's repository. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the upgrade does not break existing functionality while properly implementing the access control restrictions that were previously missing.