CVE-2013-0144 in Viostor Network Video Recorder
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in cgi-bin/create_user.cgi on QNAP VioStor NVR devices with firmware 4.0.3 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that create administrative accounts via a NEW USER action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2024
The CVE-2013-0144 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting QNAP VioStor NVR devices running firmware version 4.0.3. This vulnerability exists within the cgi-bin/create_user.cgi script, which serves as the administrative account creation interface for these network video recording devices. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the device's authentication mechanisms by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions, thereby bypassing normal security controls. This represents a significant security weakness in network surveillance infrastructure where unauthorized individuals could gain elevated privileges through automated attacks.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the create_user.cgi script. When administrators perform legitimate user creation activities through the web interface, the system should verify that requests originate from authenticated sessions and contain valid anti-CSRF tokens. However, the vulnerable QNAP firmware fails to implement this crucial validation mechanism, allowing attackers to construct malicious web pages or send specially crafted HTTP requests that automatically execute administrative account creation commands. The vulnerability specifically targets the NEW USER action functionality, which is a privileged operation that should require explicit authentication confirmation.
Operationally, this vulnerability poses severe risks to organizations relying on QNAP VioStor NVR devices for security monitoring and surveillance. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF flaw can create administrative accounts with full privileges, effectively gaining complete control over the surveillance system. This compromise could enable unauthorized access to live video feeds, modification of recording settings, deletion of critical surveillance data, and potential lateral movement within network infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the devices, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with limited network segmentation.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for social engineering approaches that leverage web-based attacks. Organizations should immediately implement network segmentation to isolate these devices from critical infrastructure, apply firmware updates from QNAP when available, and consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts. Additionally, security teams should conduct comprehensive network assessments to identify all affected devices and ensure that administrative interfaces are properly protected through multi-factor authentication and proper access controls. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of validating all administrative requests and implementing robust anti-CSRF mechanisms in network appliances handling sensitive security functions.