CVE-2014-9407 in Adserver
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Revive Adserver before 3.0.5 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) delete data via a request to agency-delete.php, (2) tracker-delete.php, or (3) userlog-delete.php in admin/ or (4) unlink accounts via a request to admin-user-unlink.php. (5) advertiser-user-unlink.php, or (6) affiliate-user-unlink.php in admin/.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2018
The CVE-2014-9407 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Revive Adserver versions prior to 3.0.5, exposing administrative functions to unauthorized manipulation. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions where attackers can trick authenticated users into executing unintended actions. The flaw exists in the administrative interfaces of the ad server platform, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the authentication mechanisms of administrators without requiring their credentials. The vulnerability impacts the core administrative functionality of the system, particularly targeting data deletion and user account management operations within the administrative console.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation in several key administrative endpoints. Attackers can construct malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in web applications to send forged requests to the affected Revive Adserver instances. These requests target specific PHP scripts including agency-delete.php, tracker-delete.php, userlog-delete.php, admin-user-unlink.php, advertiser-user-unlink.php, and affiliate-user-unlink.php, all located within the admin/ directory structure. The vulnerability does not require authentication to exploit, as the forged requests leverage the existing authenticated session of administrators who visit malicious sites. This creates a significant risk where attackers can perform destructive operations such as deleting critical data, removing tracking configurations, clearing user logs, and unlinking accounts without authorization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data loss, as it compromises the integrity and availability of the ad server administration system. Administrators managing advertising campaigns, tracking configurations, and user accounts can be tricked into performing unauthorized actions that may result in complete service disruption. The deletion of agency data can remove critical business configurations, tracker deletions can eliminate important performance monitoring capabilities, and user log deletions can obscure audit trails essential for security investigations. Account unlinking operations pose additional risks as they can effectively remove access permissions for legitimate users, potentially leading to complete administrative control loss. These operations can be performed silently in the background without administrator awareness, making detection particularly challenging and allowing attackers to maintain persistent access or cause significant operational damage.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-9407 primarily involve upgrading to Revive Adserver version 3.0.5 or later, where proper CSRF token validation has been implemented. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as enabling Content Security Policy headers, implementing proper session management controls, and conducting regular security assessments of administrative interfaces. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and access controls can provide additional defense-in-depth measures. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of implementing proper input validation and request verification mechanisms as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten security principles, specifically addressing the lack of anti-CSRF protections in administrative interfaces. Organizations should also establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual administrative activities and implement regular security training for administrators to recognize potential social engineering attacks that could exploit these vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566 - Phishing and T1078 - Valid Accounts, as it leverages legitimate administrative sessions to perform unauthorized operations, highlighting the need for comprehensive security controls beyond traditional perimeter defenses.