CVE-2013-3605 in Coursemill Learning Management System
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Coursemill Learning Management System (LMS) 6.6 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users via vectors related to cookies.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/15/2024
The CVE-2013-3605 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Coursemill Learning Management System version 6.6 that fundamentally compromises user authentication security. This vulnerability operates through the manipulation of session cookies, allowing remote attackers to forge requests that appear to originate from authenticated users. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of request authenticity within the application's session management mechanisms, creating an exploitable gap in the security architecture that directly undermines the integrity of user authentication processes.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability exploits the trust relationship between the web application and its users by leveraging the automatic inclusion of cookies in HTTP requests. When a user accesses the Coursemill LMS, their browser automatically sends session cookies with each request, including requests generated by malicious third-party sites. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or email attachments that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the Coursemill application using the victim's existing session cookies. This process effectively hijacks the user's authenticated session without requiring knowledge of their credentials, making it particularly dangerous for educational institutions where user accounts often contain sensitive learning data and administrative privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking to potentially enable complete account compromise and unauthorized access to course materials, user data, and administrative functions within the LMS. An attacker could perform actions such as modifying course content, adding or removing users, changing grades, or accessing confidential student information. The vulnerability is especially concerning in educational environments where the LMS may contain personal information, academic records, and sensitive communication between instructors and students. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the network or system.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as a classic example of insufficient anti-CSRF protection mechanisms, aligning with CWE-352 which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw demonstrates the critical importance of implementing proper CSRF tokens or similar protections that validate the origin of requests and ensure that actions performed within the application are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user. Mitigation strategies should include the implementation of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations, proper validation of referer headers, and the use of SameSite cookie attributes to prevent unauthorized cross-site request execution. Additionally, regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar weaknesses in other web applications within the organization's infrastructure, following ATT&CK framework techniques related to credential access and privilege escalation through web application vulnerabilities.