CVE-2014-1615 in Carbon Black
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Carbon Black before 4.1.0 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add new administrative users and have other unspecified action, as demonstrated by a request to api/user.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-1615 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Carbon Black security software prior to version 4.1.0. This vulnerability resides within the web-based administrative interface of the platform, creating a significant security risk that allows remote attackers to exploit the authentication mechanisms of legitimate administrators. The flaw specifically affects the api/user endpoint, which serves as a critical interface for user management operations within the Carbon Black environment.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper validation mechanisms for administrative requests. When administrators perform actions such as adding new administrative users or executing other unspecified administrative functions through the api/user endpoint, the system fails to verify the authenticity of the request origin. This omission creates a condition where malicious actors can craft specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, appear to originate from legitimate sources within the same browser session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with the ability to fundamentally alter the administrative landscape of the Carbon Black platform. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can add new administrative accounts, potentially gaining persistent access to the system. This capability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of the administrative access controls that Carbon Black is designed to enforce. The unspecified nature of other actions suggests that the vulnerability may affect additional administrative functions beyond user creation, potentially compromising the entire administrative interface.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and authentication flow implementation, where the system fails to maintain proper session integrity checks for administrative operations. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the credential access and defense evasion domains. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access or local network presence to compromise the system, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where administrative access is frequently required.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the Carbon Black platform. Organizations should implement anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated for each administrative request. The system must ensure that all administrative operations require explicit validation of the request source and that session tokens are properly managed. Additionally, implementing proper request origin validation and requiring explicit confirmation for administrative actions would significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual administrative activities that could indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of validating all administrative requests and maintaining proper session management controls in security platforms that handle sensitive operations.