CVE-2012-4488 in Location
Summary
by MITRE
The Location module 6.x before 6.x-3.2 and 7.x before 7.x-3.0-alpha1 for Drupal does not properly check user or node access permissions, which allows remote attackers to read node or user results via the location search page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/18/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-4488 affects the Location module in Drupal versions 6.x prior to 6.x-3.2 and 7.x prior to 7.x-3.0-alpha1. This represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the fundamental security model of the Drupal content management system. The Location module is designed to handle geographic data and location-based searches, but the implementation contains a significant oversight in permission validation that creates a pathway for unauthorized information disclosure.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient validation of user permissions within the module's search functionality. When users access the location search page, the module fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has adequate access rights to view the specific nodes or user accounts being queried. This permission bypass occurs at the application logic level where the module assumes all users can access location data without proper authorization checks. The vulnerability manifests when remote attackers exploit this weakness to retrieve sensitive information through crafted requests to the location search interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows remote attackers to bypass Drupal's inherent access control mechanisms and obtain unauthorized access to node and user data. An attacker could potentially gather sensitive information about content creators, user profiles, or node relationships that should be restricted based on user roles and permissions. This type of information disclosure vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to further exploitation opportunities within the Drupal environment. The vulnerability affects both Drupal 6 and 7 branches, indicating a widespread issue that required patching across multiple major versions.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1213.002 for data from information repositories. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and access control implementation that enables unauthorized data retrieval. Organizations using affected Drupal versions should immediately apply the security patches released by the Drupal security team to address this vulnerability. The fix involves implementing proper access control checks within the Location module's search functionality to ensure that user requests are validated against appropriate permission levels before returning any results. Regular security audits and proper permission configuration should be maintained to prevent similar issues in other custom modules or contributed projects.