CVE-2013-4555 in SPIP
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in ecrire/action/logout.php in SPIP before 2.1.24 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that logout the user via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2022
The CVE-2013-4555 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the SPIP content management system prior to version 2.1.24. This vulnerability exists within the logout functionality of the ecrire/action/logout.php component, creating a significant security risk that enables remote attackers to exploit user sessions without their knowledge or consent. The flaw specifically targets the authentication mechanism by allowing malicious actors to craft requests that force legitimate users to log out, potentially disrupting their session and compromising system integrity. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the attack could be executed through various methods including malicious links, embedded images, or crafted web pages that automatically trigger the logout action.
From a technical perspective, this CSRF vulnerability operates by exploiting the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser. When a user is authenticated to the SPIP system, their session cookies remain valid until explicitly terminated. The vulnerability allows attackers to create forged requests that leverage the user's existing authenticated session to execute logout operations without the user's explicit authorization. This type of attack falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in software applications. The flaw demonstrates a classic lack of proper request validation and authenticity checks that should be implemented to prevent unauthorized operations from being executed on behalf of authenticated users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session disruption, as it can be leveraged in more sophisticated attack scenarios. Attackers could potentially chain this CSRF vulnerability with other exploits to gain unauthorized access to user accounts or manipulate the application's behavior in ways that compromise data integrity. The ability to hijack authentication for logout requests creates a window of opportunity for session management attacks, where malicious actors might attempt to redirect users to compromised pages or exploit the logout process to clear security tokens. This vulnerability particularly affects systems where SPIP is used for content management and user authentication, potentially exposing sensitive administrative functions and user data to unauthorized access.
Security mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-4555 should prioritize immediate patching of the affected SPIP versions to 2.1.24 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should implement proper CSRF token validation in all state-changing operations, particularly those involving user authentication and session management functions. The solution aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential access through social engineering and session manipulation attacks. Additional defensive measures include implementing Content Security Policy headers, validating the origin of requests, and ensuring that all user-initiated actions require explicit confirmation through multi-factor authentication or secondary verification mechanisms. Network monitoring should also be enhanced to detect unusual logout patterns or unauthorized session termination attempts that might indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.