CVE-2013-7065 in Organic Groups
Summary
by MITRE
The Organic Groups (OG) module 7.x-2.x before 7.x-2.3 for Drupal allows remote attackers to bypass access restrictions and post to arbitrary groups via a group audience field, as demonstrated by the og_group_ref field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-7065 affects the Organic Groups module version 7.x-2.x prior to 7.x-2.3 within the Drupal content management system. This security flaw represents a critical access control bypass that enables remote attackers to circumvent the intended group membership restrictions and post content to any group within the system. The vulnerability specifically targets the group audience field functionality, particularly the og_group_ref field, which is designed to manage group memberships and content distribution across different organizational units.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation and sanitization of group audience field data within the Organic Groups module. When users submit content through forms that utilize the og_group_ref field, the module fails to properly verify whether the submitting user has legitimate access rights to post content within the specified groups. This weakness allows attackers to manipulate the group audience field values to reference groups they do not belong to, effectively granting them unauthorized posting privileges across multiple organizational boundaries. The flaw operates at the application logic level, where the module assumes that field data submitted by users can be trusted without proper authorization checks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to potentially spread malicious content across multiple groups simultaneously. This capability undermines the fundamental security model of group-based access control that Drupal organizations rely upon for content management and user segmentation. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to post spam content, inject malicious links, or disseminate inappropriate material to groups they should not have access to, potentially causing reputational damage and security breaches within organizations using Drupal with Organic Groups. The vulnerability also compromises data integrity and can lead to information disclosure when attackers gain access to sensitive group communications or resources.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately apply the security patch released in version 7.x-2.3 of the Organic Groups module, which implements proper access validation for group audience fields. System administrators should also conduct comprehensive security audits of their Drupal installations to identify any potential exploitation attempts and ensure that all modules are running the latest secure versions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that should govern all access control mechanisms. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques, as attackers can bypass existing security controls to gain elevated access rights. Additionally, organizations should implement network monitoring to detect unusual patterns in group posting activities and consider implementing additional input validation at the web application firewall level to prevent exploitation attempts.