CVE-2014-3881 in Web Kyukincho
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Intercom Web Kyukincho 3.x before 3.0.030 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/04/2018
The CVE-2014-3881 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Intercom Web Kyukincho 3.x versions prior to 3.0.030. This vulnerability resides within the web application's authentication mechanisms and allows remote attackers to exploit the lack of proper CSRF protection measures. The flaw enables malicious actors to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users by crafting specially crafted requests that leverage the victim's existing session credentials. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous as they can be exploited without requiring direct access to user credentials or session tokens, making them stealthy and highly effective attack vectors.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the application's failure to validate the origin of incoming requests and implement proper anti-CSRF tokens. In web applications, CSRF protection typically requires the server to verify that requests originate from legitimate sources by either checking referer headers, validating anti-CSRF tokens embedded in forms, or implementing same-site cookies. The Intercom Web Kyukincho application did not adequately enforce these protections, allowing attackers to construct malicious web pages or emails that would automatically submit requests to the vulnerable application when unsuspecting users visited the malicious content. This flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates poor input validation practices that are commonly categorized under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to perform critical administrative functions, modify user permissions, or manipulate sensitive data within the application. When an authenticated user visits a malicious page containing embedded CSRF attack vectors, the application processes the request as if it originated from the legitimate user, thereby granting the attacker the privileges associated with that user account. This vulnerability is particularly concerning in web applications where users may have elevated privileges, as it could potentially allow attackers to escalate their privileges or compromise entire user sessions. The attack requires minimal technical expertise to execute and can be automated through various social engineering techniques, making it a high-risk vulnerability that could affect organizations relying on this application for business-critical operations.
Security practitioners should implement multiple layers of defense to address this vulnerability, beginning with immediate patching of affected systems to version 3.0.030 or later. The remediation process should include the implementation of robust CSRF protection mechanisms such as anti-CSRF tokens, proper referer header validation, and same-site cookie attributes. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify other potential CSRF vulnerabilities within their web applications and ensure that all authenticated sessions are properly protected. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing security monitoring that can detect anomalous request patterns indicative of CSRF attacks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the privilege escalation and credential access domains, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls that address both the technical implementation flaws and the broader operational security implications.