CVE-2012-4198 in Bugzilla
Summary
by MITRE
The User.get method in Bugzilla/WebService/User.pm in Bugzilla 3.7.x and 4.0.x before 4.0.9, 4.1.x and 4.2.x before 4.2.4, and 4.3.x and 4.4.x before 4.4rc1 has a different outcome for a groups request depending on whether a group exists, which allows remote authenticated users to discover private group names by observing whether a call throws an error.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/19/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2012-4198 resides within the Bugzilla web service implementation, specifically in the User.get method located in Bugzilla/WebService/User.pm. This flaw affects multiple versions of Bugzilla including 3.7.x and 4.0.x prior to 4.0.9, 4.1.x and 4.2.x prior to 4.2.4, and 4.3.x and 4.4.x prior to 4.4rc1. The security issue stems from an inconsistent behavior in how the system handles group membership requests, creating a timing or response-based information disclosure vulnerability that can be exploited by authenticated attackers.
The technical flaw manifests when an authenticated user makes a groups request through the web service interface. The system behaves differently depending on whether the requested group exists or not, creating a distinguishable outcome that reveals information about the existence of private groups. When a user requests information about a group that does not exist, the system throws an error, but when requesting information about an existing group, it returns the appropriate data. This differential response allows an attacker to perform group enumeration by observing error responses versus successful responses, effectively mapping out the private group structure of the Bugzilla installation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with valuable intelligence about the organization's internal structure and user group configurations. An attacker can systematically test various group names to determine which private groups exist within the system, potentially identifying sensitive groups such as administrators, developers, or other restricted access groups. This information can then be leveraged to plan more sophisticated attacks, such as targeted social engineering campaigns or privilege escalation attempts. The vulnerability specifically maps to CWE-200, Information Exposure, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1213.001 for Data from Information Repositories, as it enables the extraction of organizational data through service enumeration.
Organizations using affected Bugzilla versions should immediately apply the relevant security patches released by the Bugzilla team to address this vulnerability. The mitigation strategy involves updating to Bugzilla versions 4.0.9, 4.2.4, or 4.4rc1, respectively, depending on the specific version in use. Additionally, administrators should implement proper access controls and monitoring to detect unusual patterns of group enumeration attempts. Network segmentation and rate limiting on web service endpoints can further reduce the risk of successful exploitation, while regular security assessments should verify that no unauthorized group information has been compromised. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of consistent error handling in web services and the potential for seemingly minor implementation differences to create significant security risks.