CVE-2014-9300 in Server
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the cmisbrowser servlet in Content Management Interoperability Service (CMIS) in Alfresco Community Edition before 5.0.a allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that access unauthorized URLs and obtain user credentials via a URL in the url parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/02/2022
The CVE-2014-9300 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Content Management Interoperability Service (CMIS) component of Alfresco Community Edition. This vulnerability exists in the cmisbrowser servlet implementation and affects versions prior to 5.0.a, creating a significant security risk for organizations utilizing this content management platform. The flaw allows remote attackers to exploit the authentication mechanism by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate users, thereby bypassing standard security controls that protect against unauthorized access to content management resources.
The technical exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the url parameter within the cmisbrowser servlet. When a victim user accesses a maliciously crafted URL containing a forged request, the CMIS service processes the request without proper validation of the user's intent or authorization context. This allows attackers to construct requests that leverage the authenticated session of the victim user, enabling them to access unauthorized URLs and potentially obtain user credentials. The vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the servlet's request processing flow, creating a pathway for attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it enables attackers to perform arbitrary operations within the CMIS service context. Successful exploitation could allow unauthorized access to sensitive content management resources, modification of document repositories, or even complete compromise of the content management system through privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the service level rather than the application level, meaning that successful exploitation can affect the entire CMIS implementation and potentially compromise the underlying content repository. Organizations using Alfresco Community Edition in production environments face significant risk of data exposure, content tampering, and unauthorized access to business-critical information assets.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Alfresco Community Edition 5.0.a or later versions where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper CSRF token validation mechanisms. Additional protective measures include implementing proper input validation for the url parameter, deploying web application firewalls with CSRF protection capabilities, and establishing monitoring protocols to detect anomalous request patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also review and test their existing authentication and authorization controls to ensure that similar vulnerabilities do not exist in other components of their content management infrastructure. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege as defined in cybersecurity frameworks. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation, demonstrating how seemingly minor implementation flaws can create significant entry points for sophisticated attackers.