CVE-2012-2307 in Addressbook
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Addressbook module for Drupal 6.x-4.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of unspecified victims via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/19/2019
The CVE-2012-2307 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Addressbook module for Drupal versions 6.x-4.2 and earlier. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by tricking users into executing unintended actions against a web application where they are authenticated. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning as it affects the core Addressbook module functionality, which typically handles user contact information management and address storage within Drupal-based web platforms.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the Addressbook module's request processing. When users interact with the module's forms or endpoints, the application fails to verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate users. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious web pages or email content that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submits requests to the vulnerable Drupal installation. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description indicate that the attack surface encompasses multiple potential execution points within the module's interface, making the vulnerability particularly difficult to predict and defend against. This weakness allows attackers to perform unauthorized actions such as adding, modifying, or deleting address book entries, potentially leading to data compromise or unauthorized access to user information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation as it compromises the fundamental security model of authenticated web applications. When exploited, the vulnerability enables attackers to hijack user sessions and perform actions as if they were the legitimate user, potentially leading to complete account compromise. In the context of Drupal installations, this could result in unauthorized modifications to user contact information, which might be used for further attacks or social engineering purposes. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Drupal's Addressbook module for managing user directories, contact lists, or business communication systems, creating potential risks for data integrity and user privacy. The long-term implications include potential credential theft, data exfiltration, and the possibility of establishing persistent access points within the affected systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-2307 should prioritize immediate patching of the Addressbook module to the latest available version that contains CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding practices to prevent malicious requests from being processed successfully. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF tokens within all user-facing forms and endpoints represents the most effective defense mechanism against this class of vulnerability. Security teams should also consider implementing additional layers of protection such as Content Security Policy headers, HTTPOnly cookies, and regular security audits of custom modules. According to ATT&CK framework category TA0001 (Initial Access) and TA0003 (Persistence), this vulnerability could be leveraged for initial access and potentially for maintaining access through compromised user sessions. Organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected module and ensure proper configuration of security headers and session management controls to prevent exploitation of similar CSRF vulnerabilities across their Drupal installations.