CVE-2015-2858 in Airline Booking Software
Summary
by MITRE
Datalex airline booking software before 2015-09-03 allows remote attackers to read or write to arbitrary user data via a modified profileId parameter to (1) ValidateFormAction.do or (2) ProfileConfirmEditAddressAction.do.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/06/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-2858 represents a critical authorization bypass flaw in Datalex airline booking software systems that existed prior to the September 3, 2015 patch release. This vulnerability falls under the category of insecure direct object references as defined by CWE-639, where the application fails to properly validate user access permissions when processing requests that reference user data objects. The flaw specifically manifests in two distinct endpoints within the application's action processing framework: ValidateFormAction.do and ProfileConfirmEditAddressAction.do, which handle form validation and address confirmation processes respectively.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the profileId parameter within HTTP requests sent to the affected web application. Attackers can construct malicious requests that modify this parameter to reference arbitrary user profiles, effectively bypassing the normal access controls that should restrict users to only their own data. This allows unauthorized individuals to read or write to user data that they should not have access to, creating a significant data exposure risk. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic lack of input validation and access control enforcement, where the application assumes that the profileId parameter represents a legitimate reference without verifying that the requesting user has proper authorization to access that specific profile.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it enables comprehensive user data manipulation across the airline booking system. An attacker could potentially access sensitive passenger information including personal details, booking history, and contact information, while also being able to modify or corrupt data belonging to other users. This creates substantial risk for both privacy compliance and business continuity, particularly in environments where strict data protection regulations apply. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the booking system and could potentially be leveraged to disrupt services, create false bookings, or establish persistent access to the system through compromised user accounts.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including thorough input validation of all profileId parameters, enforcement of proper access controls at the application level, and implementation of robust authentication mechanisms. The remediation efforts should focus on ensuring that user sessions are properly validated and that all object references are checked against the authenticated user's permissions. This vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting, as it enables attackers to exploit legitimate user access to perform unauthorized actions. Additionally, the issue demonstrates characteristics of T1213 for data from information repositories, as it allows unauthorized data extraction from the application's user data stores. System administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious parameter manipulation attempts, and conduct comprehensive security testing to identify similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities within the application's broader codebase.