CVE-2012-5586 in Services
Summary
by MITRE
The Services module 6.x-3.x before 6.x-3.3 and 7.x-3.x before 7.x-3.3 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the "access user profiles" permission to access arbitrary users emails via vectors related to the "user index method" and "the path to the user resource."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2012-5586 represents a significant information disclosure flaw within the Services module for Drupal platforms. This module serves as a RESTful web services framework that enables Drupal sites to expose their data through APIs, making it a critical component for integrating with external applications and mobile devices. The vulnerability affects versions 6.x-3.x prior to 6.x-3.3 and 7.x-3.x prior to 7.x-3.3, indicating that this flaw was present across multiple major Drupal versions and persisted for an extended period. The vulnerability specifically targets authenticated users who possess the "access user profiles" permission, which is a relatively common permission level that allows users to view basic profile information for other users within the system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the "user index method" and the "path to the user resource" functionality within the Services module. Attackers can leverage these vectors to construct malicious API requests that bypass normal access controls and retrieve email addresses of users they should not be authorized to access. The flaw essentially allows for unauthorized enumeration of user email addresses through the RESTful API endpoints that the Services module provides. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-200 category of "Information Exposure" and represents a classic case of insufficient access control validation within API endpoints. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the module's authorization mechanisms, where the system fails to properly verify that the requesting user has appropriate permissions to access specific user data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial for organizations running Drupal sites with the Services module installed. Email address disclosure can lead to various downstream security issues including targeted phishing attacks, social engineering campaigns, and enumeration-based attacks against user accounts. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only an authenticated user with minimal privileges to exploit, making it accessible to a wide range of potential attackers. The exposed email addresses can be used to conduct credential stuffing attacks against other services where users may have reused passwords, or to target specific individuals with spear-phishing attempts. Organizations may also face compliance issues if user email addresses are considered sensitive information under regulations such as gdpr or hipaa, depending on their jurisdiction and industry requirements.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to the patched versions of the Services module 6.x-3.3 and 7.x-3.3 to remediate this vulnerability. The patch addresses the insufficient access control validation by implementing proper authorization checks that verify the requesting user's permissions before exposing user email addresses through API endpoints. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive audits of their Drupal installations to identify all instances of the Services module and ensure proper access control configurations are in place. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous API access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly around user profile access endpoints. Additionally, organizations should review and tighten the permissions assigned to the "access user profiles" role to limit access to user data based on legitimate business requirements rather than default configurations that may grant excessive access rights. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper API security implementation and access control validation in web applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering and T1078 for legitimate credential use.