CVE-2014-9151 in Services
Summary
by MITRE
The Services module 7.x-3.x before 7.x-3.10 for Drupal does not properly limit the rate of authentication attempts, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access via a brute-force attack on the administrative password.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/16/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-9151 affects the Services module version 7.x-3.x prior to 7.x-3.10 within the Drupal content management system. This flaw represents a significant security weakness that directly impacts the module's ability to defend against automated authentication attacks. The Services module enables Drupal sites to expose their functionality through web services, allowing external applications to interact with the system using various protocols including REST and XML-RPC. When configured improperly or without adequate security measures, this module becomes a prime target for malicious actors seeking to compromise administrative accounts through systematic credential guessing attacks.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the absence of proper rate limiting mechanisms within the authentication process of the Services module. Authentication rate limiting is a fundamental security control designed to prevent brute-force attacks by restricting the number of login attempts that can be made within a specific time period. Without these controls in place, attackers can rapidly submit authentication requests with different credential combinations, effectively bypassing normal security measures that would typically slow down or block automated attack patterns. This weakness specifically impacts the administrative password protection, making it particularly dangerous as successful exploitation would grant full administrative control over the affected Drupal site.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it creates a pathway for attackers to gain complete control over the affected Drupal installation. When combined with other vulnerabilities or reconnaissance efforts, an attacker could potentially escalate privileges, modify content, access sensitive data, or even use the compromised administrative account as a foothold for further attacks within the organization's network infrastructure. The ease with which this vulnerability can be exploited makes it particularly attractive to automated attack tools that can rapidly cycle through common password combinations, dictionary words, or previously compromised credentials from data breaches. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-307, which addresses inadequate account lockout mechanisms, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1110.003 for Brute Force: Password Guessing, demonstrating how weak authentication controls enable successful credential compromise.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to Services module version 7.x-3.10 or later, which includes proper rate limiting implementations. Additional mitigations should include implementing comprehensive authentication policies that enforce strong password requirements, enabling multi-factor authentication where possible, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for unusual authentication patterns. Network-level controls such as ip tables rules or web application firewalls can also help by limiting the number of authentication requests from individual IP addresses. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the vulnerable Services module version and ensure that proper access controls are implemented throughout the Drupal installation to limit exposure even if authentication attempts are successful. The remediation process should include regular security audits to verify that rate limiting mechanisms are properly configured and functioning as intended.