CVE-2014-0197 in cfme
Summary
by MITRE
CFME: CSRF protection vulnerability via permissive check of the referrer header
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/11/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0197 resides within the CloudForms Management Engine (CFME) platform, specifically targeting its cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection mechanisms. This weakness stems from an overly permissive validation approach that fails to adequately verify the referrer header, creating a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The CloudForms Management Engine serves as a comprehensive infrastructure management platform that provides monitoring, automation, and lifecycle management capabilities for cloud environments, making this vulnerability particularly concerning given the sensitive nature of the operations it governs.
The technical flaw manifests in how CFME processes and validates HTTP referrer headers during authentication and authorization checks. Rather than implementing robust validation that ensures the referrer originates from trusted sources within the same domain, the system accepts potentially malicious referrer values that could be manipulated by attackers. This permissive approach violates fundamental security principles for CSRF protection, as it fails to establish the necessary trust relationship between the requesting client and the target application. The vulnerability specifically affects the application's ability to distinguish between legitimate requests originating from within the CFME interface and potentially malicious requests that attempt to exploit the CSRF protection mechanism.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to perform authenticated actions that could compromise the entire management infrastructure. An attacker could craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in user browsers to initiate unauthorized operations within the CFME environment, potentially leading to data manipulation, system configuration changes, or complete compromise of the management platform. The consequences are particularly severe because CFME typically operates within enterprise environments where it manages critical infrastructure components, making successful exploitation a significant threat to overall organizational security posture. This vulnerability creates a persistent risk that remains active as long as the affected version of CFME remains operational, potentially allowing for extended periods of unauthorized access and control.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-0197 should focus on implementing proper referrer header validation that aligns with established security standards such as those outlined in CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities. Organizations should ensure that their CFME deployments apply the vendor-provided patches and updates that address this specific CSRF protection weakness. Additionally, implementing additional layers of security such as proper CSRF tokens that are tied to user sessions, enforcing strict referrer validation policies, and implementing content security policies can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security testing to verify that the fix properly addresses the vulnerability without introducing new issues. Organizations should consider implementing network-level protections and monitoring to detect suspicious patterns of traffic that might indicate exploitation attempts, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1566 for credential harvesting and T1078 for valid accounts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and the critical need for thorough validation of all security mechanisms, particularly those involved in authentication and authorization processes.