CVE-2014-6409 in M
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in M/Monit 3.3.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that change user passwords via the fullname and password parameters to /admin/users/update.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2025
The CVE-2014-6409 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in M/Monit monitoring software version 3.3.2 and earlier. This vulnerability exists within the administrative user management functionality of the application, specifically in the password update endpoint at /admin/users/update. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions through carefully crafted malicious requests that leverage the application's trust in authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the password modification endpoint. When administrators access the user management interface to update user information, including full names and passwords, the application fails to verify that the request originates from a legitimate administrative session. Attackers can construct malicious web pages or exploit existing user sessions to submit forged requests that modify user credentials without proper authorization. The vulnerability specifically targets the fullname and password parameters, making it particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to potentially gain control over administrative accounts and escalate privileges within the monitoring environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it provides attackers with direct access to administrative functions within the M/Monit application. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to modify user accounts, create new administrative users, or even completely compromise the monitoring infrastructure. This represents a significant risk for organizations relying on M/Monit for system monitoring, as the attacker could potentially gain unauthorized access to critical system information and modify monitoring configurations. The vulnerability affects the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the application, undermining the security model that protects administrative functions.
Security practitioners should address this vulnerability through immediate patching of affected M/Monit installations to version 3.3.3 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF token validation. Organizations should implement additional network-level protections such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious requests targeting administrative endpoints. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential access through social engineering. Network segmentation and privileged access controls should be implemented to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation, while regular security assessments should verify that all administrative interfaces properly implement anti-CSRF protections to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other applications.