CVE-2014-5100 in Omeka
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Omeka before 2.2.1 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add a new super user account via a request to admin/users/add, (2) insert cross-site scripting (XSS) sequences via the api_key_label parameter to admin/users/api-keys/1, or (3) disable file validation via a request to admin/settings/edit-security.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/02/2025
The CVE-2014-5100 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Omeka versions prior to 2.2.1, fundamentally undermining the application's administrative security controls. This vulnerability operates through a sophisticated attack vector that exploits the trust relationship between authenticated administrators and the web application, allowing remote attackers to execute unauthorized administrative actions without proper authentication. The flaw specifically targets the administrative interface where legitimate users expect robust protection against malicious requests initiated from external domains or compromised websites.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the targeted administrative endpoints. Attackers can craft malicious requests that leverage the victim administrator's authenticated session to perform three distinct malicious operations. The first attack vector enables the creation of new superuser accounts through the admin/users/add endpoint, potentially granting attackers complete administrative control over the Omeka installation. The second vector targets the admin/users/api-keys/1 endpoint where attackers can inject cross-site scripting sequences via the api_key_label parameter, creating persistent XSS vulnerabilities that can compromise administrator sessions or exfiltrate sensitive data. The third attack vector allows modification of security settings by disabling file validation through the admin/settings/edit-security endpoint, significantly weakening the application's file upload security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple privilege escalation, creating a comprehensive attack surface that can result in complete system compromise. When an administrator visits a malicious website containing crafted CSRF payloads, the browser automatically submits requests to the vulnerable Omeka installation using the administrator's existing session cookies. This attack can be particularly devastating because it requires no credentials or authentication bypass techniques, relying solely on the trust relationship between the browser and the target application. The ability to add superuser accounts provides attackers with persistent access to the system, while the XSS injection capability enables session hijacking and data exfiltration. The file validation disablement attack creates additional attack vectors by allowing malicious file uploads that could lead to remote code execution or further system compromise.
Security practitioners should recognize this vulnerability as a classic example of insufficient anti-CSRF protection mechanisms, which aligns with CWE-352, Cross-Site Request Forgery. The vulnerability demonstrates how the absence of proper token validation in web applications creates exploitable trust relationships that can be leveraged by attackers. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to multiple techniques including T1078 Valid Accounts for maintaining persistent access, T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application for initial compromise, and T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter for potential code execution through malicious file uploads. The attack surface encompasses both the administrative interface and the underlying security controls, making it particularly dangerous for content management systems that rely heavily on administrator privileges. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative operations, proper session management controls, and comprehensive input validation across all user-facing parameters to prevent such vulnerabilities from being exploited in production environments.