CVE-2013-7376 in OpenX
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in OpenX 2.8.10, possibly before revision 82710, allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators, as demonstrated by requests that conduct directory traversal attacks via the group parameter to (1) plugin-preferences.php or (2) plugin-settings.php in www/admin, a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-3514.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/24/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-7376 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in OpenX version 2.8.10 and potentially earlier revisions up to 82710. This vulnerability specifically targets the administrative interface of the OpenX advertising platform, creating a significant security risk that could allow remote attackers to gain unauthorized administrative access. The flaw manifests through the improper validation of the group parameter within two distinct administrative endpoints: plugin-preferences.php and plugin-settings.php located in the www/admin directory. These endpoints are crucial components of the OpenX administration system where administrators configure and manage various advertising plugins and their associated settings.
The technical exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs through directory traversal attacks that leverage the group parameter to manipulate the application's behavior in unauthorized ways. Attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions, thereby bypassing the normal authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows attackers to perform administrative actions without proper authorization, effectively hijacking administrator sessions. The attack vector specifically targets the plugin management functionality within the OpenX administrative interface, where the group parameter controls which plugin settings are accessed and modified. This creates a pathway for attackers to manipulate plugin configurations, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to execute arbitrary code within the administrative context of the OpenX platform. The directory traversal component of the attack allows for manipulation of file paths that could potentially lead to privilege escalation or further exploitation of the system. Security researchers have noted that this vulnerability operates independently from CVE-2013-3514, indicating it represents a distinct attack surface that requires separate mitigation strategies. The vulnerability affects the core administrative functionality of OpenX, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that rely on the platform for advertising operations. Organizations using affected versions of OpenX are at risk of having their advertising systems compromised, potentially leading to unauthorized ad placements, data theft, or complete system takeover.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-7376 should focus on implementing proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the affected OpenX installations. The most effective approach involves implementing robust token-based validation for all administrative requests, ensuring that each request contains a unique, unpredictable token that cannot be forged by attackers. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as input validation for the group parameter, proper session management, and regular security audits of administrative interfaces. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application, as it represents a method for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in publicly accessible web applications. The implementation of proper CSRF protection should include the use of anti-CSRF tokens, origin validation, and implementing the SameSite cookie attributes where applicable. Organizations should also ensure that their OpenX installations are updated to versions that contain the appropriate patches addressing this specific vulnerability, as the issue was likely resolved in subsequent releases.