CVE-2014-4613 in Piwigo
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the administration panel in Piwigo before 2.6.2 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add users via a pwg.users.add action in a request to ws.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2025
The CVE-2014-4613 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the Piwigo photo gallery management system prior to version 2.6.2. This vulnerability specifically targets the administration panel and exploits the lack of proper authentication verification mechanisms when processing administrative actions through the web services interface. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate administrative functions by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from authenticated administrator sessions, thereby bypassing normal security controls that should prevent unauthorized access to sensitive administrative operations.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or proper session validation mechanisms within the ws.php endpoint when handling the pwg.users.add action. When administrators access the administration panel and perform legitimate operations, the system should verify that requests originate from authorized users with valid session tokens. However, the vulnerable Piwigo versions failed to implement adequate protection measures, allowing malicious actors to construct specially crafted HTTP requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, would perform unauthorized user addition operations. This particular attack vector operates through the web services API interface, which is designed to handle administrative tasks programmatically, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through automated means without requiring direct user interaction beyond the initial authentication.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with the ability to create new administrative accounts within the Piwigo system. This capability fundamentally compromises the integrity of the administration panel and can lead to complete system takeover. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can add new user accounts with elevated privileges, potentially establishing persistent access to the system. The consequences include unauthorized modification of gallery content, deletion of photos and albums, alteration of user permissions, and potential data exfiltration. The vulnerability affects not only the immediate administrative functions but also undermines the trust model of the entire Piwigo application, as it allows unauthorized parties to inject malicious users who could then perform additional attacks or maintain access even after the initial exploitation attempt.
The security implications of CVE-2014-4613 align with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. This classification emphasizes the fundamental flaw in the application's anti-CSRF protection mechanisms and highlights the need for proper token validation and session management. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through user account creation, specifically covering the T1078.004 sub-technique related to valid accounts and the T1548.001 sub-technique for abuse of privileges. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor input validation and inadequate protection against unauthorized administrative operations, which are core security concerns addressed by various security frameworks including the OWASP Top Ten. Organizations using vulnerable versions of Piwigo should immediately implement mitigations including updating to version 2.6.2 or later, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and monitoring for unauthorized administrative activities. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of implementing robust session management and authentication verification in web service interfaces, particularly those handling administrative functions, as these components form the foundation of application security and user trust.