CVE-2014-9431 in Smoothwall
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Smoothwall Express 3.1 and 3.0 SP3 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that change the (1) admin or (2) dial password via a request to httpd/cgi-bin/changepw.cgi.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2022
The CVE-2014-9431 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Smoothwall Express versions 3.0 SP3 and 3.1. This vulnerability resides within the web-based administration interface of the firewall appliance, specifically targeting the password change functionality through the httpd/cgi-bin/changepw.cgi endpoint. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions without legitimate authentication credentials, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this network security solution.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the affected Smoothwall versions. When administrators access the web interface to change administrative or dial passwords, the system fails to validate the authenticity of the request source or implement token-based verification. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in other parts of the network to initiate requests that modify critical system passwords. The vulnerability specifically targets the changepw.cgi script which handles password modification operations, making it a direct path to administrative privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it provides attackers with persistent access to critical network security controls. Once an attacker successfully exploits this CSRF flaw, they can change administrative passwords and maintain long-term access to the firewall configuration, potentially compromising the entire network security posture. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on Smoothwall Express for network protection, as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of authentication mechanisms. The remote exploitation capability means attackers do not require physical access or local network presence to exploit this flaw, making it especially dangerous in environments where network segmentation is not properly implemented.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches released for this vulnerability, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and ensuring that administrative interfaces require additional authentication factors beyond simple session management. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative interface access patterns should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments should verify that similar CSRF vulnerabilities do not exist in other web-based management interfaces. The affected versions of Smoothwall Express require immediate patching to prevent exploitation and maintain the integrity of network security controls.