CVE-2012-6047 in X7 Chat
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in X7 Chat 2.0.5.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add a user to an arbitrary group via the users page in an adminpanel action to index.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/25/2025
The CVE-2012-6047 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in X7 Chat version 2.0.5.1 and earlier implementations. This vulnerability resides within the administrative panel functionality of the chat application, specifically targeting the user management features that allow administrators to add users to arbitrary groups. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the lack of proper authentication verification mechanisms, potentially allowing unauthorized individuals to manipulate administrative functions without possessing valid credentials. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it directly targets the administrative interface where sensitive user management operations occur, making it a prime target for privilege escalation attacks.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or similar protective mechanisms within the administrative actions that handle user group modifications. When administrators perform operations through the users page in the adminpanel, the application fails to validate the authenticity of the request origin or verify that the request was genuinely initiated by the authenticated administrator. This absence of proper request validation creates an exploitable condition where attackers can craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, will perform unauthorized actions. The vulnerability specifically affects the index.php endpoint which processes administrative user management operations, making it a central point of attack within the application's security architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential privilege escalation and unauthorized user manipulation within the chat system. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can add users to arbitrary groups, potentially creating accounts with elevated privileges or accessing restricted functionality within the chat environment. This capability undermines the integrity of the user management system and could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive communications or administrative controls. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations relying on X7 Chat for secure communication platforms where maintaining proper user access controls is essential for operational security and data protection.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-6047 should focus on implementing proper CSRF protection mechanisms including the use of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated for each administrative session and validated upon request submission. Organizations should ensure that all administrative actions require verification of the request origin and that session management is properly implemented to prevent unauthorized access. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352 which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices that should be addressed through comprehensive security testing and code review processes. Additionally, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1548.002 which involves privilege escalation through exploitation of weak session management and authentication controls. System administrators should immediately upgrade to patched versions of X7 Chat or implement compensating controls such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious administrative requests to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.