CVE-2012-4020 in kintai kanri
Summary
by MITRE
MosP kintai kanri before 4.1.0 does not enforce privilege requirements, which allows remote authenticated users to read other users information via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/09/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-4020 affects MosP kintai kanri versions prior to 4.1.0, representing a critical access control flaw that undermines the application's security posture. This issue stems from insufficient privilege enforcement mechanisms within the system's authentication framework, creating a scenario where authenticated users can bypass normal access controls to obtain unauthorized information about other users. The vulnerability specifically targets the privilege escalation and information disclosure capabilities, allowing attackers to exploit unspecified vectors that were not properly validated or restricted by the application's security controls.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's failure to implement proper authorization checks when processing user requests. In properly secured applications, each operation should verify that the authenticated user possesses the necessary privileges to perform the requested action. However, MosP kintai kanri fails to enforce these checks, enabling malicious authenticated users to manipulate the application's behavior through crafted requests that access data belonging to other users. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability that falls under the CWE-284 access control weakness category, where insufficient controls allow unauthorized access to resources. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning because it operates at the application layer, where attackers can leverage their legitimate authentication credentials to perform unauthorized data access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can lead to significant privacy violations and potential data breaches. Remote authenticated users who exploit this vulnerability can access sensitive user information including personal details, work records, and potentially confidential business data that should remain protected within the application's access control framework. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can enable further attacks such as account takeover, social engineering, or insider threat exploitation. The attack vector operates through legitimate application interfaces, making detection more challenging as the malicious activity appears to originate from authenticated user sessions rather than suspicious external connections.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of the ATT&CK framework, particularly under the privilege escalation and credential access domains where unauthorized access to user information can facilitate broader compromise. The vulnerability's classification as an information disclosure issue suggests potential for cascading effects where compromised user data can be used for further attacks. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-supplied patch to version 4.1.0 or later, conducting thorough access control reviews, and monitoring for unauthorized access patterns. Additionally, implementing proper input validation, session management, and privilege enforcement mechanisms can help prevent similar issues in other applications. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of maintaining robust access control mechanisms and regularly updating software to address known security flaws that could be exploited by authenticated attackers.