CVE-2012-2716 in Comment Moderation
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Comment Moderation module 6.x-1.x before 6.x-1.1 for Drupal allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that publish comments.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2018
The CVE-2012-2716 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Drupal's Comment Moderation module version 6.x-1.x prior to 6.x-1.1. This vulnerability resides in the web application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, specifically targeting the administrative functionality that manages user-generated content. The flaw enables malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated administrators and the Drupal platform, potentially allowing unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of legitimate users with administrative privileges.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens in the Comment Moderation module's request processing. When administrators navigate to the comment moderation interface, the module fails to validate that requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions rather than crafted malicious payloads. This omission creates a scenario where attackers can construct specially crafted web pages or email attachments containing embedded requests that, when viewed by authenticated administrators, automatically execute comment publishing actions without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically targets the publish comment functionality, allowing attackers to manipulate content moderation workflows and potentially introduce malicious content into the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple content manipulation, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of the Drupal platform. Administrators who visit compromised web pages or click on malicious links become unwitting participants in attacks that can result in unauthorized content publication, spam injection, and potential data integrity compromise. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the web application and its authenticated users, making detection particularly challenging since legitimate administrative actions appear to originate from authorized accounts. This vulnerability also represents a significant risk to content management systems where administrators regularly access external websites or email systems, as the attack can be executed through simple web page embedding or email attachments without requiring complex exploitation techniques.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Drupal Comment Moderation module version 6.x-1.1 or later, which includes proper CSRF token validation. Security practitioners should also consider implementing additional protective measures such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious request patterns, and conducting regular security audits of all installed Drupal modules to identify potential vulnerabilities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for the initial access phase of cyber attacks. Additional defensive strategies should include user education about the risks of visiting untrusted websites, implementing content security policies to prevent unauthorized script execution, and establishing robust monitoring procedures to detect unusual administrative activity patterns that may indicate CSRF attacks.