CVE-2012-4059 in SocketMail
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in home/secretqtn.php in SocketMail Pro 2.2.9 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that change user security questions and answers via an upd action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/19/2019
The CVE-2012-4059 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in SocketMail Pro version 2.2.9 that fundamentally undermines user authentication security. This vulnerability exists within the home/secretqtn.php script and specifically targets the process of updating user security questions and answers. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by crafting malicious requests that exploit the application's lack of proper CSRF protection mechanisms. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to hijack user authentication without requiring knowledge of valid credentials, making it a significant threat to user account integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms in the security question update functionality. When users navigate to the secretqtn.php page and attempt to modify their security questions through the upd action parameter, the application fails to verify the authenticity of the request origin. This absence of proper request validation creates an exploitable condition where attackers can construct malicious web pages or send crafted requests that automatically submit updates to user security questions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and demonstrates how insufficient input validation and lack of proper session management can lead to privilege escalation through unauthorized administrative actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it fundamentally compromises user account security and trust. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can alter security question answers without user consent, potentially allowing them to reset passwords or gain unauthorized access to user accounts. This type of attack falls under the ATT&CK technique T1531, which involves creating or modifying authentication tokens and credentials to maintain persistent access. The consequences include potential account takeover, unauthorized data access, and the ability to bypass security controls that rely on accurate security question responses. Organizations using SocketMail Pro 2.2.9 face significant risk of credential compromise and user data exposure when this vulnerability remains unpatched.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-4059 require immediate implementation of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the SocketMail Pro application. Organizations should implement anti-CSRF tokens that are generated for each user session and validated on every state-changing request. The solution must include server-side validation of request origins and implementation of the SameSite cookie attributes to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks. Additionally, developers should ensure that all actions modifying user authentication data require explicit user confirmation and proper session validation. Security patches or updates to SocketMail Pro version 2.2.9 should be applied immediately to address this vulnerability, as the flaw represents a critical security risk that can be exploited without user interaction or knowledge. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify similar CSRF vulnerabilities in other application components and implement consistent security controls across all web application interfaces.