CVE-2012-4053 in eZ Publish
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in eZOE flash player in eZ Publish 4.1 through 4.6 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of unspecified victims via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2018
The CVE-2012-4053 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting the eZOE flash player component within eZ Publish versions 4.1 through 4.6. This vulnerability resides in the web application's authentication mechanism and operates by exploiting the trust relationship between the user's browser and the vulnerable application. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions without requiring knowledge of the victim's credentials, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on eZ Publish for content management. The vulnerability specifically targets the flash player component that integrates with the eZ Publish platform, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered through various attack vectors that leverage the player's functionality.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the eZOE flash player's communication protocols. When a user interacts with a malicious website or webpage containing crafted flash content, the attacker can exploit the flash player's ability to make authenticated requests on behalf of the victim. The vulnerability operates through unspecified attack vectors that likely involve the manipulation of session tokens or authentication cookies that are automatically included in requests made by the flash player. This flaw aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, where the application fails to validate the origin of requests, allowing unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it can enable attackers to perform administrative functions within the eZ Publish system. An attacker could potentially modify content, create new user accounts, delete files, or manipulate database entries through the hijacked authenticated sessions. The flash player's integration with the broader eZ Publish ecosystem means that successful exploitation could compromise not just individual user sessions but potentially entire content management workflows. Organizations using affected versions face significant risk of data corruption, unauthorized content modification, and potential system compromise, particularly if the eZ Publish installation has administrative privileges or access to sensitive data repositories.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-4053 must address both the immediate vulnerability and broader security posture of the affected systems. Organizations should immediately upgrade to eZ Publish versions that contain patches for this CSRF vulnerability, as the vendor likely released security updates specifically addressing this flaw. Additionally, implementing proper CSRF protection mechanisms such as anti-CSRF tokens within all authenticated requests, enforcing strict referer header validation, and utilizing secure session management practices can significantly reduce the attack surface. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and content filtering systems can help detect and block malicious requests attempting to exploit this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1566, which covers phishing techniques, as attackers often leverage social engineering to deliver malicious flash content that triggers CSRF attacks. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to ensure that no other components within the eZ Publish environment remain susceptible to similar CSRF attacks, as the vulnerability may indicate broader security weaknesses in the application's authentication architecture.