CVE-2012-0997 in 11in1
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in admin/index.php in 11in1 1.2.1 stable 12-31-2011 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add new topics via an addTopic action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/18/2024
The CVE-2012-0997 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the 11in1 content management system version 1.2.1, which was released on December 31, 2011. This vulnerability specifically targets the administrative interface of the application, creating a significant security risk for organizations that rely on this platform for content management and user administration. The flaw exists within the admin/index.php file, making it a server-side authentication bypass issue that can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring any privileged access to the system.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens or validation mechanisms in the administrative actions that handle topic creation. When administrators perform operations through the addTopic action, the application fails to verify that the request originates from a legitimate administrative session rather than a maliciously crafted request. This weakness allows attackers to construct specially crafted web pages or email attachments that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to add new topics to the forum or website. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and leverages the administrator's existing authenticated session to perform unauthorized actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with the ability to escalate privileges and potentially gain complete control over the affected system. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can add new topics to the platform, which may include malicious content, spam, or phishing materials designed to compromise other users. This can lead to reputation damage, data corruption, and potential further exploitation of the system. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on 11in1 for community forums or content management, where the addition of unauthorized topics can disrupt normal operations and compromise user trust.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002, which covers the use of malicious web content to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic lack of input validation and session management controls that are fundamental to secure web application development practices. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigations including the use of anti-forgery tokens, proper session management, and input validation to prevent such attacks from succeeding.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of CSRF protection mechanisms within the 11in1 application. The most effective solution involves implementing proper anti-forgery token validation for all administrative actions, particularly those that modify system state or create new content. Additionally, organizations should ensure that session management is properly configured to prevent session hijacking and that all administrative actions require explicit validation of user intent. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and patch management processes, as this flaw existed in a stable release for several months before being identified. Organizations using 11in1 should immediately upgrade to patched versions or implement compensating controls to prevent exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability.