CVE-2015-2143 in phpBugTracker
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Issuetracker phpBugTracker before 1.7.0 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that cause an unspecified impact via unknown parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/27/2025
The CVE-2015-2143 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery issue affecting phpBugTracker versions prior to 1.7.0. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw exists within the authentication handling mechanisms of the issue tracking system, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit user sessions and perform unauthorized actions. The vulnerability's impact stems from the application's failure to properly validate and authenticate requests originating from external sources, thereby undermining the security model that relies on session-based authentication.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability allows remote attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate authenticated users. Attackers can leverage this weakness by constructing specially crafted web pages or email links that, when visited by authenticated users, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable phpBugTracker application. The unspecified impact mentioned in the description suggests that these requests could potentially lead to various security consequences including but not limited to unauthorized administrative actions, data modification, user account manipulation, or privilege escalation within the application. The vulnerability's exploitation requires no special privileges or authentication credentials from the attacker beyond the ability to deliver malicious content to targeted users.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-2143 extends beyond simple data theft or modification, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of user sessions and the application's access control mechanisms. When successfully exploited, this vulnerability can enable attackers to perform actions that should be restricted to authorized personnel, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The attack vector relies on social engineering techniques where users are tricked into visiting malicious websites or clicking on harmful links, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users frequently interact with external content. Organizations using vulnerable versions of phpBugTracker face significant risk of unauthorized access and potential data breaches.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-2143 primarily focus on upgrading to phpBugTracker version 1.7.0 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the CSRF vulnerability. Additionally, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms within the application's request processing pipeline would provide defense-in-depth against similar issues. Security measures should include the enforcement of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations, proper validation of referer headers, and implementation of SameSite cookie attributes where applicable. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework would place it within the privilege escalation and persistence domains, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to maintain access and extend their control over the affected systems. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments to identify any other potential CSRF vulnerabilities within their web applications and ensure proper input validation and authentication controls are in place.