CVE-2012-2713 in BrowserID
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the BrowserID (Mozilla Persona) module 7.x-1.x before 7.x-1.3 for Drupal allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that login a user to another web site.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2019
The CVE-2012-2713 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the BrowserID (Mozilla Persona) module for Drupal versions 7.x-1.x prior to 7.x-1.3. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of web application security and identity management systems, specifically targeting the authentication mechanisms that enable users to log into websites using their existing identity providers. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to user accounts across different web platforms.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins within the BrowserID module's authentication flow. When a user is authenticated through the Persona system, the module fails to properly verify that incoming authentication requests originate from legitimate sources within the same domain. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in other websites to submit forged authentication requests that appear to come from trusted sources. This creates a scenario where an authenticated user's session can be hijacked without their knowledge or consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking to encompass broader account compromise and potential data breaches. An attacker could leverage this flaw to log users into malicious websites using their legitimate credentials from other platforms, effectively enabling unauthorized access to sensitive information and system resources. The vulnerability particularly affects users who rely on the Persona authentication system, as it undermines the trust model that should exist between the authentication provider and the relying party. This type of attack aligns with attack patterns described in the ATT&CK framework under credential access and privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the exploitation of authentication mechanisms.
The vulnerability's severity is amplified by its ability to work across different domains and websites, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users frequently interact with multiple web services. The flaw demonstrates a lack of proper origin validation and request integrity checks that should be fundamental to any authentication system. According to CWE guidelines, this represents a classic implementation of CWE-352, Cross-Site Request Forgery, where the application fails to validate the source of requests that modify user state. Organizations using affected Drupal installations face significant risk of unauthorized account access, potential data leakage, and compromised user trust in their authentication systems.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the BrowserID module to version 7.x-1.3 or later, which implements proper CSRF protection mechanisms. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing additional security measures such as implementing proper origin validation, using anti-CSRF tokens in authentication flows, and ensuring that all authentication-related requests undergo rigorous verification before processing. The remediation process should also include monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns and implementing proper session management practices. Organizations should review their overall authentication architecture to ensure that similar vulnerabilities do not exist in other authentication modules or custom implementations, as the principles underlying this vulnerability apply broadly to any system that handles user authentication across multiple domains.