CVE-2012-6433 in e107
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in e107_admin/newspost.php in e107 1.0.1 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that conduct XSS attacks via the news_title parameter in a create action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2024
The CVE-2012-6433 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the e107 content management system version 1.0.1, specifically within the administrative newspost.php component. This vulnerability exposes the system to sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise administrator sessions and enable malicious actors to execute unauthorized actions. The flaw manifests when administrators interact with the news creation functionality, making it particularly dangerous as it targets privileged users with elevated system access rights.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and missing anti-CSRF tokens in the administrative interface. Attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrator sessions, exploiting the absence of proper session validation mechanisms. The news_title parameter serves as the primary attack vector, where malicious input can trigger unintended behavior in the server-side processing. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of CSRF and XSS attack vectors, as the forged requests can be designed to execute malicious scripts in the administrator's browser context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking, as it enables attackers to perform administrative actions that could result in complete system compromise. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could modify or delete content, create malicious user accounts, access sensitive system information, or even install backdoors. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently interact with the web interface. The risk is amplified by the fact that administrators typically have extensive permissions and may be less cautious about clicking suspicious links or visiting compromised websites.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability, including the immediate application of available patches and updates to the e107 platform. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms should be enforced across all administrative interfaces, ensuring that each request contains unique validation tokens that cannot be forged by attackers. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous administrative activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security audits of web applications should include comprehensive testing for CSRF vulnerabilities, particularly in administrative interfaces. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery as a fundamental web application security weakness, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for credential access through social engineering and T1078 for valid accounts usage. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional protection against such attacks.