CVE-2010-2234 in CouchDB
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Apache CouchDB 0.8.0 through 0.11.0 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for direct requests to an installation URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2025
The CVE-2010-2234 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Apache CouchDB versions ranging from 0.8.0 to 0.11.0, which fundamentally undermines the security posture of affected installations. This vulnerability operates by exploiting the absence of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the CouchDB authentication system, allowing remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions through crafted requests. The flaw specifically targets the administrative interface of CouchDB, where authenticated users maintain elevated privileges for system management operations, making it particularly dangerous for database administrators who rely on these sessions for critical configuration changes.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from CouchDB's failure to validate the origin of requests made to its administrative endpoints. When an administrator authenticates to the CouchDB interface, their session remains active and is typically validated through cookies or session tokens. However, the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or referer header validation means that malicious actors can craft specially formatted requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions. This allows attackers to perform administrative actions without requiring authentication credentials, effectively hijacking the administrator's authenticated session. The vulnerability is particularly insidious because it operates at the application layer, bypassing traditional network-level security controls that might otherwise prevent unauthorized access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary administrative commands within the CouchDB environment. Successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise, including data exfiltration, unauthorized user account creation, database modification, and potential lateral movement within network environments where CouchDB is deployed. Given that CouchDB is often used for web applications and document storage systems, the consequences of unauthorized administrative access can be severe, potentially exposing sensitive organizational data and disrupting critical business operations. The vulnerability affects installations where CouchDB is directly exposed to untrusted networks, making it particularly dangerous in cloud deployments or environments without proper network segmentation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of Apache CouchDB, typically version 0.11.1 or later, which include proper anti-CSRF token implementation. Network segmentation strategies should be employed to limit direct exposure of CouchDB administrative interfaces to untrusted networks, while implementing proper access controls and authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities as a fundamental web application security flaw, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities, while conducting comprehensive security assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts that may have occurred prior to remediation efforts.