CVE-2011-3836 in Wuzly
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Wuzly 2.0 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add an administrator, (2) perform cross-site scripting (XSS), (3) perform SQL injection, or have other unspecified impact via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2019
The CVE-2011-3836 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Wuzly 2.0 content management system that fundamentally undermines administrative security controls. This vulnerability classifies under CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions where attackers can manipulate authenticated users into executing unintended actions. The flaw exists in the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, creating a dangerous attack surface that allows remote adversaries to exploit administrative privileges without proper authentication.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request validation mechanisms within the administrative interfaces of Wuzly 2.0. Attackers can construct malicious web pages or send crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, perform unauthorized actions. The vulnerability specifically enables attackers to add new administrators to the system, execute cross-site scripting payloads, conduct SQL injection attacks, and potentially perform other unspecified malicious activities. This multi-vector attack capability significantly amplifies the impact beyond typical CSRF scenarios.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe risk to system integrity and confidentiality. When an administrator visits a malicious website or clicks on compromised links, their browser automatically submits requests to the Wuzly 2.0 application with their existing session cookies. This allows attackers to perform administrative functions without knowing credentials, effectively bypassing authentication controls. The potential for privilege escalation and persistent access makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in production environments where administrative access controls are paramount.
The attack vectors associated with CVE-2011-3836 align with several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting. The vulnerability enables adversaries to establish persistent access through administrator account creation, while also providing opportunities for data exfiltration and system compromise through XSS and SQL injection capabilities. Organizations using Wuzly 2.0 face significant risk of unauthorized access, data manipulation, and potential full system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address the core authentication and authorization gaps. Implementing anti-CSRF tokens within all administrative forms and requests provides the most effective defense mechanism. These tokens should be generated per session and validated on each request to ensure requests originate from legitimate administrative interfaces. Additionally, implementing proper session management controls, enforcing strict referer header validation, and implementing Content Security Policies can further reduce exploitation risks. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious request patterns and ensure all administrative interfaces require additional authentication factors beyond simple session cookies. Regular security assessments and input validation improvements will help prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future versions of the software.