CVE-2011-0650 in Security Assistant
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Greenbone Security Assistant (GSA) allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that send email via an OMP request to OpenVAS Manager. NOTE: this issue can be leveraged to bypass authentication requirements for exploiting CVE-2011-0018.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/09/2018
The CVE-2011-0650 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Greenbone Security Assistant (GSA) component of the OpenVAS security framework. This vulnerability specifically affects the authentication handling mechanisms of the GSA application, which serves as the web interface for managing OpenVAS vulnerability scanning operations. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the system's trust relationship with authenticated users, allowing them to execute unauthorized actions through crafted malicious requests. The vulnerability manifests when users interact with the GSA interface and attempt to send email notifications through OpenVAS Manager via OMP (OpenVAS Management Protocol) requests.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request validation mechanisms within the GSA's email sending functionality. When users initiate email transmission through the web interface, the system fails to verify the authenticity of the request source, relying instead on the presence of valid session cookies to authenticate the user. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities to trick authenticated users into submitting email requests without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the application layer, targeting the web interface rather than underlying network protocols, making it difficult to detect through traditional network-based security measures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized email sending, as it provides attackers with a mechanism to bypass authentication requirements for exploiting additional vulnerabilities within the OpenVAS ecosystem. Specifically, the flaw can be leveraged to circumvent the authentication protections required for exploiting CVE-2011-0018, which likely represents another vulnerability within the OpenVAS framework. This creates a dangerous chain reaction where a single CSRF flaw can enable exploitation of multiple security weaknesses, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on GSA for managing their vulnerability scanning operations, particularly those with multiple users accessing the system simultaneously.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as a classic example of CSRF attacks that align with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery flaws in software applications. The ATT&CK framework would classify this under the T1566 technique for "Phishing" and potentially T1078 for "Valid Accounts" as attackers can leverage authenticated sessions to perform unauthorized actions. Organizations should implement comprehensive CSRF protection mechanisms including anti-forgery tokens, proper origin validation, and strict request verification procedures. The mitigation strategy should involve updating to patched versions of GSA and OpenVAS, implementing web application firewalls, and conducting regular security assessments of web interfaces to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future.