CVE-2014-9361 in LoginToboggan
Summary
by MITRE
The LoginToboggan module 7.x-1.x before 7.x-1.4 for Drupal does not properly unset the authorized user role for certain users, which allows remote attackers with the pre-authorized role to gain privileges and possibly obtain sensitive information by accessing a Page Not Found (404) page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2018
The LoginToboggan module for Drupal represents a critical access control vulnerability that emerged in versions 7.x-1.x prior to 7.x-1.4. This vulnerability stems from improper handling of user role permissions within the authentication workflow, creating a persistent security weakness that can be exploited by remote attackers. The flaw specifically affects the module's ability to correctly manage and unset the authorized user role for certain authenticated users, leaving them with elevated privileges that should have been revoked upon logout or session termination. The vulnerability operates through a sophisticated bypass mechanism that leverages the module's interaction with Drupal's core access control systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a failure in the module's session management and role assignment logic. When users authenticate through LoginToboggan, the system should properly clear or unset the authorized user role from their session data upon logout or when transitioning between authenticated and anonymous states. However, in affected versions, certain users retain the pre-authorized role even when they should no longer possess elevated privileges. This misconfiguration creates a persistent access vector that allows attackers to maintain unauthorized access to restricted resources. The exploitation occurs specifically when accessing 404 error pages, which are typically handled by Drupal's core system but are inadvertently processed with the lingering authorized role permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to include potential information disclosure and unauthorized access to sensitive system resources. Attackers with the pre-authorized role can leverage this weakness to access pages and resources that should normally be restricted to authenticated users or administrators. The vulnerability particularly affects scenarios where the 404 page handling mechanism is invoked, allowing the attacker to potentially traverse the application's access control boundaries. This weakness can be particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where different levels of access are required for various system functions and data sets.
The security implications of CVE-2014-9361 align with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for social engineering attacks that exploit authentication weaknesses. Organizations running affected Drupal installations face significant risk of unauthorized data access and potential system compromise. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper session management and role-based access control implementation in web applications. Security professionals should consider this issue when evaluating the overall security posture of Drupal-based systems, particularly those that rely heavily on custom authentication modules.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate upgrade to LoginToboggan version 7.x-1.4 or later, which contains the necessary patches to properly handle user role unsetting. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring and logging of authentication events to detect potential exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access control measures can provide additional defense-in-depth layers to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of all Drupal installations to identify and remediate similar issues in other contributed modules. Regular security audits and automated vulnerability scanning should be implemented to prevent similar issues from emerging in the future.