CVE-2013-7432 in Googlemaps Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The Googlemaps plugin before 3.1 for Joomla! allows remote attackers to bypass an intended protection mechanism.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/11/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-7432 affects the Googlemaps plugin version 3.0 and earlier for Joomla installations that rely on this third-party component for mapping functionality.
The technical flaw manifests in the plugin's failure to properly validate user permissions before executing sensitive operations or exposing restricted content. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious requests that circumvent the normal authentication flow, effectively gaining unauthorized access to features that should only be available to authenticated administrators or authorized users. This bypass mechanism operates at the application layer, exploiting a design flaw in the plugin's access control implementation that fails to adequately verify user credentials or roles before granting access to protected resources. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning given that it affects a widely used plugin within the Joomla! ecosystem, potentially exposing numerous installations to unauthorized access and privilege escalation attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it creates potential pathways for attackers to execute more sophisticated attacks within compromised Joomla installations. Organizations using vulnerable versions of this plugin face significant risk of data breaches, service disruption, and potential compliance violations given the sensitive nature of administrative access controls that are bypassed.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-7432 center on immediate plugin updates to version 3.1 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the access control bypass mechanism. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring and logging of plugin access patterns to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control in software systems, and represents a classic example of insufficient authorization checks that violate fundamental security principles. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level protections such as web application firewalls and access control lists to provide additional defense-in-depth measures. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques where adversaries leverage weak access controls to gain elevated permissions, potentially leading to full system compromise through lateral movement and persistence mechanisms. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar access control weaknesses in other third-party components and ensure comprehensive protection of Joomla! installations against similar threats.