CVE-2012-1498 in Webfoliocms1.1.4
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Webfolio CMS 1.1.4 and earlier allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add an administrator via an add action to admin/users/add or (2) modify a web page via a save action to admin/pages/edit/web_page_name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2025
The CVE-2012-1498 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw present in Webfolio CMS versions 1.1.4 and earlier. This vulnerability resides within the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the content management system, specifically targeting administrative functions that are crucial for system integrity and security. The flaw enables malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between legitimate users and the web application, allowing unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated administrators without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the targeted administrative endpoints. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or emails containing hidden form submissions that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, perform administrative actions without requiring additional authentication. The vulnerability specifically affects two primary administrative functions: the add action at admin/users/add which permits the creation of new administrator accounts, and the save action at admin/pages/edit/web_page_name which allows modification of web content. These endpoints lack sufficient token validation or referer header checking that would normally prevent unauthorized requests from being processed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for any organization utilizing the affected Webfolio CMS version. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can gain unauthorized administrative access to the system, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The ability to add new administrator accounts creates a persistent backdoor that can be used for ongoing unauthorized access, while the page modification capability allows for defacement, data manipulation, and potential exfiltration of sensitive information. This vulnerability essentially provides attackers with the means to assume full administrative privileges without requiring credentials or bypassing authentication mechanisms, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently access the system.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative actions, proper implementation of referer header validation, and the enforcement of session management best practices. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and secure authentication practices. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence, as attackers can establish new administrative accounts and maintain access to the compromised system. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates a lack of proper input validation and secure coding practices, which should be addressed through comprehensive security training for developers and implementation of secure coding standards such as those outlined in OWASP Top Ten and NIST Cybersecurity Framework guidelines.