CVE-2010-2039 in gpEasy
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in gpEasy CMS 1.6.2, 1.6.1, and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that create new administrative users via an Admin_Users action to index.php. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2025
The CVE-2010-2039 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in gpEasy CMS versions 1.6.2 and earlier, which fundamentally undermines the security posture of affected systems. This vulnerability resides in the authentication mechanism of the content management system, specifically within the Admin_Users action handler that processes user creation requests through the index.php endpoint. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated administrators and the web application, allowing unauthorized individuals to perform administrative actions without proper authorization.
This CSRF vulnerability operates by tricking authenticated administrators into executing malicious requests through social engineering techniques or by embedding malicious code in compromised websites. When an administrator visits a malicious page while logged into the gpEasy CMS administration interface, the attacker can craft requests that automatically create new administrative user accounts without the administrator's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the administrative user creation workflow, making it particularly dangerous for systems where administrators perform frequent administrative tasks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows attackers to establish persistent access to administrative interfaces and potentially compromise entire web applications. Once an attacker successfully creates a new administrative user account, they gain full access to the CMS administration panel, enabling them to modify content, upload malicious files, alter system configurations, and potentially exfiltrate sensitive data. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of the authentication system, as it allows unauthorized parties to bypass normal access controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. According to the ATT&CK framework, this represents a privilege escalation technique under the T1068 (Additional Cloud Credentials) and T1548.001 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism) categories. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical skill and can be automated, making it particularly attractive to threat actors. Organizations using gpEasy CMS versions 1.6.2 or earlier face significant risk of unauthorized administrative access, which could lead to complete system compromise and data breaches.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate patching to the latest gpEasy CMS versions that contain proper CSRF token validation mechanisms. Administrators should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding practices, along with the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative actions. Additional protective measures include implementing proper session management controls, restricting administrative access to trusted networks, and conducting regular security assessments of web applications. Organizations should also establish robust monitoring systems to detect unauthorized administrative activities and ensure that all web applications undergo regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors.