CVE-2013-6173 in Document Sciences xPression
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in EMC Document Sciences xPression 4.1 SP1 before Patch 47, 4.2 before Patch 26, and 4.5 before Patch 05, as used in Documentum Edition, Enterprise Edition Publish Engine, and Enterprise Edition Compuset Engine, allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that perform administrative actions in (1) xAdmin or (2) xDashboard.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/17/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-6173 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting EMC Document Sciences xPression versions 4.1 SP1 through 4.5 before specific patches. This vulnerability resides in the authentication mechanisms of the Documentum Edition, Enterprise Edition Publish Engine, and Enterprise Edition Compuset Engine components, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on these platforms for document management and publishing operations. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions and execute administrative actions without proper authorization, potentially compromising entire document management systems.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the administrative interfaces of the xPression platform. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing user sessions to submit forged requests to the vulnerable xAdmin and xDashboard applications. These interfaces handle critical administrative functions including user management, system configuration changes, and document publishing operations. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication handling within these administrative portals, where the system fails to properly verify that requests originate from legitimate administrative sources rather than malicious third-party websites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to perform administrative actions that could completely compromise the security posture of document management systems. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to modify system configurations, create or modify user accounts with elevated privileges, access restricted documents, and potentially disrupt publishing workflows. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no credentials from the victim, as the authentication is already established within the user's browser session. This makes the vulnerability particularly effective in phishing attacks or when users visit compromised websites while authenticated to the xPression system, creating a persistent threat that can escalate to full system compromise.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided patches for EMC Document Sciences xPression versions affected by this vulnerability, specifically targeting Patch 47 for 4.1 SP1, Patch 26 for 4.2, and Patch 05 for 4.5. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened around the affected systems to limit exposure. Implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms and ensuring all administrative interfaces require proper origin verification would provide additional defense layers. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for credential access through phishing attacks, making it a critical priority for security teams to address immediately.