CVE-2012-0303 in Message Filter
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Brightmail Control Center in Symantec Message Filter 6.3 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that (1) execute application commands or (2) create admin accounts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/05/2021
The CVE-2012-0303 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Symantec Message Filter 6.3's Brightmail Control Center component. This vulnerability exists within the web-based administrative interface of the email security solution, which is designed to protect organizations from spam and malicious email traffic. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions and execute unauthorized administrative actions without proper authorization. The vulnerability specifically affects the control center's handling of session tokens and request validation mechanisms, creating a pathway for attackers to exploit the authentication system and gain elevated privileges within the email filtering environment.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of origin requests within the Brightmail Control Center's web application framework. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or email payloads that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable control center interface. The flaw manifests in two primary attack vectors where the application fails to properly verify the source of requests, allowing attackers to execute application commands such as modifying email filtering rules, accessing sensitive system configurations, or creating new administrative user accounts. This lack of proper request origin verification directly violates security principles outlined in the CWE-352 category for Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, where the application does not adequately validate that requests originate from legitimate sources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential complete system compromise. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can effectively take control of the email filtering infrastructure, potentially allowing them to bypass email security measures, redirect email traffic, or create backdoor administrative accounts that persist beyond the initial attack window. The implications are particularly severe in enterprise environments where the Brightmail Control Center serves as a central point for email security management, as this compromise could enable attackers to gain access to sensitive organizational email communications and potentially facilitate further attacks within the network infrastructure. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or network, making it particularly dangerous in environments with internet-facing email security appliances.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attacks, the implementation of proper anti-CSRF tokens that are validated on each request, and the enforcement of strict session management policies. The remediation process should involve updating to the latest available version of Symantec Message Filter 6.3 that includes patches addressing the CSRF validation issues, or implementing network-level controls that restrict access to the Brightmail Control Center interface to trusted IP ranges only. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive assessments of their email security infrastructure to identify any other potential CSRF vulnerabilities in similar web-based administrative interfaces, as this type of flaw is commonly found in enterprise security appliances and requires consistent attention to proper request validation mechanisms. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining robust session management and request origin verification in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive administrative functions and privileged operations within enterprise security infrastructure.