CVE-2011-3994 in AutoTagging
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in SKYARC MTCMS before 5.252, and the MultiFileUploader 0.44 and earlier, DuplicateEntry 1.2 and earlier, MailPack 1.741 and earlier, and AutoTagging 0.08 and earlier plugins for Movable Type, allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that modify data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2019
The CVE-2011-3994 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting multiple plugins within the Movable Type content management system ecosystem. This vulnerability specifically targets versions of SKYARC MTCMS prior to 5.252 and several associated plugins including MultiFileUploader 0.44 and earlier, DuplicateEntry 1.2 and earlier, MailPack 1.741 and earlier, and AutoTagging 0.08 and earlier. The flaw exists in the authentication handling mechanisms of these plugins, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit user sessions without legitimate credentials. The vulnerability operates by tricking authenticated users into executing unintended actions through maliciously crafted web requests that appear to originate from legitimate sources within the target application's domain.
This CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the plugin implementations. When users navigate to malicious websites or click on compromised links while authenticated to Movable Type, attackers can forge requests that leverage the user's existing session to perform unauthorized operations. The technical flaw lies in the failure to validate that requests originate from legitimate sources within the application, instead relying solely on session cookies for authentication. This design weakness allows attackers to construct HTTP requests that contain all necessary parameters and authentication tokens to execute administrative functions or modify content within the CMS. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations utilizing affected Movable Type plugins. Attackers can hijack user sessions to perform arbitrary modifications to website content, delete entries, modify user permissions, or even gain administrative control over the CMS. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the target system. This vulnerability particularly threatens websites that rely heavily on user-generated content or administrative functions, as attackers can manipulate the CMS to post malicious content, alter existing entries, or compromise the integrity of the entire website. The potential for data loss, reputation damage, and unauthorized access makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in production environments.
Organizations affected by CVE-2011-3994 should immediately implement several mitigation strategies to protect their systems. The primary remediation involves upgrading to the latest versions of Movable Type and all affected plugins, specifically ensuring MTCMS is updated to version 5.252 or later, and that all vulnerable plugins are upgraded to their latest secure releases. Additionally, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms within the application layer provides an additional defense-in-depth approach. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit the sources from which scripts can be loaded, and establish monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized modifications to CMS content. The mitigation approach aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which addresses the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities through CSRF attacks. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to ensure that similar vulnerabilities do not exist in other parts of the web application stack, while also maintaining awareness of the evolving threat landscape in web application security.