CVE-2011-1690 in Best Practical
Summary
by MITRE
Best Practical Solutions RT 3.6.0 through 3.6.10 and 3.8.0 through 3.8.8 allows remote attackers to trick users into sending credentials to an arbitrary server via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1690 affects Best Practical Solutions RT versions 3.6.0 through 3.6.10 and 3.8.0 through 3.8.8, representing a critical security flaw that enables man-in-the-middle attacks through credential interception. This vulnerability operates by exploiting the authentication mechanism within the RT ticketing system, creating a scenario where legitimate users can be deceived into transmitting their credentials to malicious servers rather than the intended legitimate authentication endpoints. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of authentication server endpoints, allowing attackers to manipulate the authentication flow through unspecified vectors that typically involve DNS manipulation or HTTP redirect attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-346, which addresses "Origin Validation Error" in authentication protocols, where systems fail to properly verify the authenticity of the server with which they are communicating. This weakness creates a direct pathway for attackers to perform credential theft attacks under the ATT&CK framework category of T1566, specifically targeting credential access through phishing or credential harvesting techniques.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the RT client and authentication servers by manipulating the authentication process to redirect users to attacker-controlled endpoints. When users attempt to authenticate with the RT system, the application does not adequately validate that the authentication server is legitimate or that the connection is secure, creating opportunities for attackers to intercept credentials through various network manipulation techniques. The unspecified vectors likely involve DNS cache poisoning, HTTP redirect manipulation, or similar network-level attacks that can be executed against the authentication infrastructure. This type of vulnerability represents a fundamental breakdown in the authentication security model, where the system assumes the legitimacy of authentication endpoints without proper cryptographic verification or endpoint validation. The impact extends beyond simple credential theft to potentially enable full system compromise when combined with other attack vectors, particularly since RT systems often contain sensitive organizational data and administrative privileges.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1690 is severe for organizations relying on affected RT versions, as successful exploitation can result in complete unauthorized access to ticketing systems, including access to confidential issue reports, user management capabilities, and administrative functions. Attackers can leverage stolen credentials to escalate privileges, modify system configurations, or gain access to other systems that share the same authentication infrastructure. The vulnerability affects organizations that use RT for customer support, incident management, or internal ticketing systems where credential compromise can lead to data breaches, service disruption, and compliance violations. Organizations may face significant forensic challenges in determining the scope of credential compromise, as the attack can occur without obvious network indicators, and the authentication redirection may appear legitimate to users. The vulnerability also impacts the trust model of the entire RT ecosystem, as it undermines confidence in the authentication process and may require complete system reconfiguration or redeployment to remediate effectively.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-1690 should prioritize immediate patching of affected RT versions to the latest stable releases that contain fixes for the authentication validation flaws. Organizations should implement network-level controls such as DNS security measures, HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) headers, and certificate pinning to prevent unauthorized redirection of authentication flows. The implementation of multi-factor authentication can provide additional protection layers even if credential interception occurs, while network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual authentication patterns or connections to unknown endpoints. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of all authentication endpoints and implement proper certificate validation procedures to ensure that only trusted servers can participate in the authentication process. Additionally, user education programs should be established to help personnel recognize potentially malicious authentication prompts and understand the importance of verifying server certificates. Organizations may also consider implementing network segmentation to isolate authentication infrastructure and reduce the attack surface, while maintaining detailed logging of all authentication attempts to facilitate incident response and forensic analysis. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patched systems to ensure that authentication functionality remains intact while eliminating the vulnerability.