CVE-2010-5285 in Collabtive
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in admin.php in Collabtive 0.6.5 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add administrative users via the edituser action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2025
The CVE-2010-5285 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Collabtive version 0.6.5's administrative interface. This vulnerability specifically targets the admin.php file and exploits a weakness in the application's authentication handling mechanisms. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions and perform unauthorized actions by crafting malicious requests that leverage the trust relationship between the web application and its administrators.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs through the edituser action within the administrative panel. When administrators access the user management functionality, the application fails to implement proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms. This absence allows attackers to construct specially crafted web pages or malicious links that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to add new administrative users without the administrator's knowledge or explicit consent. The vulnerability operates at the session management layer, exploiting the implicit trust that the application places in authenticated requests without sufficient verification of request origin.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete administrative control over the Collabtive platform. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF flaw can add new administrator accounts with full privileges, potentially gaining persistent access to the system and enabling further exploitation. This capability undermines the fundamental security model of the application, as it allows unauthorized parties to assume administrative roles without proper authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the entire system, as new administrative users could be created with malicious intent, leading to data compromise, system modification, or complete system takeover.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw demonstrates a classic lack of proper input validation and request origin verification, which are core requirements for secure web application development. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1078 for valid accounts and T1548 for abuse of privileges, as it enables attackers to leverage existing administrative sessions to escalate their privileges and maintain access. Organizations using vulnerable versions of Collabtive face significant risk of unauthorized administrative access, particularly in environments where administrators frequently visit external websites or are exposed to social engineering attacks. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of implementing comprehensive security measures including anti-CSRF tokens, proper session management, and input validation controls to prevent such attacks from succeeding.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate implementation of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative actions, proper validation of request origins, and enhanced session management controls. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls, conducting regular security assessments, and ensuring all users follow secure browsing practices to minimize exposure to such attacks. The most effective remediation involves updating to a patched version of Collabtive or implementing proper CSRF protection mechanisms that validate the authenticity of requests before processing administrative actions.