CVE-2012-4732 in Best Practical
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Request Tracker (RT) 3.8.12 and other versions before 3.8.15, and 4.0.6 and other versions before 4.0.8, allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that toggle ticket bookmarks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2021
The CVE-2012-4732 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting the Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system. This vulnerability specifically impacts versions 3.8.12 and earlier, as well as 4.0.6 and earlier releases, before the respective security patches were implemented in versions 3.8.15 and 4.0.8. The flaw resides in the application's insufficient validation of cross-site requests, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit user sessions without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the ticket bookmark toggling functionality. When users navigate to malicious websites or receive crafted requests, attackers can manipulate the RT application to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability specifically targets the bookmark toggle feature, which allows users to mark tickets as important or reference points within the system. This functionality becomes dangerous when combined with the lack of request origin verification.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to manipulate ticket management workflows in ways that could compromise system integrity and user privacy. An attacker could potentially bookmark or unbookmark tickets without user consent, which might be used to manipulate ticket priority, visibility, or tracking status. This capability could be leveraged to hide malicious activities, disrupt workflow processes, or create confusion within the ticketing system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where RT systems manage critical support tickets and security incidents.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as a direct violation of CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002, which covers the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities through CSRF attacks. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched versions of RT, implementing proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms, and ensuring that all user interactions with the system require proper authentication verification. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and the critical need for thorough input validation in web applications that handle user sessions and privileged operations.