CVE-2014-8072 in OpenMRS
Summary
by MITRE
The administration module in OpenMRS 2.1 Standalone Edition allows remote authenticated users to obtain read access via a direct request to /admin.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/03/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-8072 represents a critical access control flaw within the OpenMRS 2.1 Standalone Edition administration module. This issue affects healthcare information systems that rely on OpenMRS for managing patient records and clinical data, creating significant security implications for medical institutions. The vulnerability stems from improper authorization checks within the administrative interface, allowing authenticated users to bypass normal access controls and directly access administrative functions through a specific URL endpoint.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves a path traversal or direct object reference vulnerability where the system fails to properly validate user permissions before granting access to administrative resources. When authenticated users make direct requests to the /admin endpoint, the application does not adequately verify whether the requesting user possesses the necessary administrative privileges. This misconfiguration creates a privilege escalation scenario where users with basic authenticated access can potentially gain read access to sensitive administrative functions and data that should be restricted to authorized administrators only.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of the OpenMRS platform. Healthcare organizations using this version may experience unauthorized access to patient data, administrative configurations, system settings, and potentially sensitive medical records. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in healthcare environments where compliance with regulations such as hipaa and gdpr is mandatory, as unauthorized access to administrative functions could lead to data breaches and regulatory violations. The attack vector is straightforward and requires minimal technical expertise, making it attractive to threat actors targeting healthcare institutions.
Security professionals should note this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control in software systems, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including proper access control enforcement, input validation of URL parameters, and regular security audits of administrative interfaces. The recommended remediation involves patching the application to version 2.2 or later, implementing proper authentication checks before administrative access, and conducting comprehensive security testing of all administrative endpoints to prevent similar issues in the future.