CVE-2014-4963 in Shopizer
Summary
by MITRE
Shopizer 1.1.5 and earlier allows remote attackers to modify the account settings of arbitrary users via the customer.customerId parameter to shop/profile/register.action.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/26/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-4963 represents a critical authentication and authorization flaw within Shopizer e-commerce platform versions 1.1.5 and earlier. This issue stems from insufficient input validation and improper access control mechanisms that allow malicious actors to manipulate user account settings through crafted HTTP requests. The vulnerability specifically affects the shop/profile/register.action endpoint where the customer.customerId parameter is processed without adequate authorization checks, creating a path for privilege escalation attacks. The flaw enables unauthorized modification of user profiles including account details, personal information, and potentially sensitive data associated with other users in the system.
Technical exploitation of this vulnerability relies on the absence of proper user session validation and role-based access controls within the application's authentication framework. The customer.customerId parameter serves as the primary attack vector where an attacker can manipulate this value to target specific user accounts, effectively bypassing the normal user authentication flow. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-285 category of Improper Authorization, specifically manifesting as an authorization bypass that allows unauthorized access to user resources. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it does not require elevated privileges or administrative access to exploit, making it accessible to any remote attacker who can submit requests to the affected endpoint.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, potentially enabling account takeover scenarios that could lead to financial fraud, identity theft, and complete compromise of user accounts within the Shopizer platform. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to modify user passwords, access sensitive personal information, or even assume control of other user accounts to perform unauthorized transactions. The vulnerability also creates potential for data integrity issues where malicious modifications could disrupt normal business operations and compromise the trust relationship between the e-commerce platform and its users. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1078.004 which involves valid accounts and T1531 which covers lateral movement through credential access.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust input validation and comprehensive access control mechanisms. The primary fix involves ensuring that the customer.customerId parameter is properly validated against the authenticated user's session context before any modifications are processed. Organizations should implement proper authorization checks that verify the requesting user has appropriate permissions to modify the specified customer account. Additionally, the application should enforce strict session management controls and implement proper logging of account modification activities to detect unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and code reviews to identify similar authorization flaws in web applications. Implementation of web application firewalls and input sanitization measures can provide additional layers of protection against similar attacks targeting the same endpoint. Organizations should also consider implementing rate limiting and monitoring mechanisms to detect and prevent automated exploitation attempts targeting this specific vulnerability.