CVE-2010-5084 in e107
Summary
by MITRE
The cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection mechanism in e107 before 0.7.23 uses a predictable random token based on the creation date of the administrator account, which allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add new users via e107_admin/users.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/11/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-5084 represents a critical weakness in the e107 content management system's cross-site request forgery protection mechanism. This flaw exists in versions prior to 0.7.23 and specifically targets the administrative user management functionality. The core issue stems from the implementation of a CSRF token that relies on predictable randomness derived from the administrator account's creation timestamp rather than utilizing cryptographically secure random number generation. This predictable token generation creates a significant security weakness that can be exploited by remote attackers to perform unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical flaw manifests in how the system generates CSRF tokens for administrative user management operations. Instead of employing a proper randomization algorithm that ensures token unpredictability, the system incorporates the timestamp of the administrator account's creation into the token generation process. This approach violates fundamental security principles for CSRF protection mechanisms, as the timestamp component can be easily guessed or reconstructed by attackers who have knowledge of the system's operational timeline. The predictable nature of these tokens enables attackers to craft malicious requests that can successfully bypass the CSRF protection layer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows remote attackers to hijack administrative sessions and perform unauthorized user management operations. Specifically, attackers can exploit this weakness to add new users to the system through the e107_admin/users.php interface without proper authentication. This privilege escalation capability enables attackers to establish persistent access to the system, potentially leading to complete compromise of the web application and underlying infrastructure. The vulnerability affects not just individual user accounts but represents a fundamental breach in the system's administrative security controls.
This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software implementations. The predictable token generation pattern also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002, which covers the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities through CSRF attacks. The flaw demonstrates poor random number generation practices that are commonly identified in security assessments and should be addressed through proper implementation of cryptographically secure random token generation mechanisms. Organizations using vulnerable versions of e107 should immediately implement the available patches and consider additional security measures such as implementing additional authentication factors and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities.
The recommended mitigations include upgrading to e107 version 0.7.23 or later, which contains the proper CSRF token implementation. Administrators should also implement additional security controls such as two-factor authentication for administrative accounts, regular monitoring of user creation activities, and network-based intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of all web applications to identify similar predictable randomness issues and ensure that all CSRF protection mechanisms utilize cryptographically secure random number generators as specified in industry best practices and security standards.