CVE-2014-9180 in Eleanor
Summary
by MITRE
Open redirect vulnerability in go.php in Eleanor CMS allows remote attackers to redirect users to arbitrary web sites and conduct phishing attacks via a URL in the QUERY_STRING.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2022
The CVE-2014-9180 vulnerability represents a critical open redirect flaw discovered in the Eleanor CMS content management system, specifically within the go.php component. This vulnerability resides in the application's handling of URL parameters within the QUERY_STRING, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate user navigation. The flaw essentially allows an attacker to craft a malicious URL that, when visited by an unsuspecting user, will redirect them to an arbitrary external website while maintaining the appearance of legitimacy within the original domain context.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization within the go.php script. When users access the vulnerable endpoint with a specially crafted URL parameter, the application fails to properly validate or sanitize the redirect destination, allowing arbitrary URLs to be processed directly without proper verification. This weakness directly maps to CWE-601, which categorizes open redirect vulnerabilities as a serious security concern where applications redirect users to external sites without proper validation. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, specifically affecting web application security controls that should enforce strict validation of redirect destinations to prevent malicious redirection attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple redirection, creating significant opportunities for sophisticated phishing campaigns and social engineering attacks. Attackers can exploit this flaw to create convincing fake login pages or fraudulent websites that appear to originate from legitimate Eleanor CMS domains, thereby bypassing user trust mechanisms and security awareness. This capability enables attackers to harvest credentials, personal information, or sensitive data from unsuspecting users who believe they are navigating within a trusted environment. The vulnerability can be leveraged in targeted attacks against specific user groups or as part of broader phishing campaigns, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may trust internal domain references.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for Phishing and T1071.1 for Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols, as it exploits web application protocols to manipulate user sessions and redirect traffic. The attack vector requires minimal technical expertise, making it accessible to threat actors across different skill levels. Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing strict URL validation mechanisms, employing allowlists for redirect destinations, and deploying proper input sanitization controls. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious redirect patterns, as well as conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components. The remediation process requires thorough code review of all redirect functionality and implementation of proper security controls that align with OWASP Top Ten security recommendations for preventing open redirect vulnerabilities.