CVE-2014-1915 in Command School Student Management System
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Command School Student Management System 1.06.01 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of (1) administrators for requests that change the administrator password via an update action to sw/admin_change_password.php or (2) unspecified victims for requests that add a topic or blog entry to sw/add_topic.php. NOTE: vector 2 can be leveraged to bypass the authentication requirements for exploiting vector 1 in CVE-2014-1914.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/19/2025
The CVE-2014-1915 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the Command School Student Management System version 1.06.01, exposing the application to unauthorized administrative actions and user data manipulation. This vulnerability operates through the fundamental principle of CSRF attacks where malicious actors can trick authenticated users into executing unintended commands without their knowledge or consent. The specific implementation flaw allows remote attackers to exploit the system's lack of proper authentication verification mechanisms when processing administrative and user-related operations.
The technical exploitation occurs through two distinct attack vectors that demonstrate the interconnected nature of web application security flaws. The first vector targets administrator accounts by manipulating requests to the sw/admin_change_password.php endpoint, enabling attackers to modify administrator credentials without proper authorization. This represents a direct compromise of administrative control over the system, potentially leading to complete system takeover. The second vector targets unspecified victims through the sw/add_topic.php endpoint, allowing attackers to add unauthorized content or blog entries on behalf of legitimate users. This dual nature of the vulnerability demonstrates how CSRF flaws can compound security risks across different user roles within the same application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, creating potential for significant data integrity breaches and system compromise. When combined with CVE-2014-1914, the second vector becomes a critical enabler for bypassing authentication requirements, effectively creating a pathway for attackers to gain administrative privileges through seemingly innocuous user actions. This chaining of vulnerabilities represents a common pattern in web application security where multiple flaws work together to create more severe consequences than individual weaknesses might suggest. The implications include unauthorized content manipulation, potential data exfiltration, and complete administrative control over the student management system.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should implement robust anti-CSRF token mechanisms across all state-changing operations within the application. The solution requires implementing unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session that are validated on every administrative action and content modification request. This approach directly addresses the CWE-352 vulnerability category related to cross-site request forgery and aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for credential access through web application attacks. Organizations should also implement proper input validation, session management controls, and ensure that all administrative functions require explicit user confirmation before execution. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and SameSite cookie attributes would further strengthen defenses against this class of attack, providing multiple layers of protection that align with defense-in-depth principles recommended by industry security frameworks.