CVE-2015-2952 in MilkyStep Light
Summary
by MITRE
The user-information management functionality in Igreks MilkyStep Light 0.94 and earlier and Professional 1.82 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and modify administrative credentials via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-2953 and CVE-2015-2958.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-2952 represents a critical authorization flaw within the Igreks MilkyStep software suite, specifically affecting both the Light version 0.94 and earlier, as well as the Professional version 1.82 and earlier. This issue resides within the user-information management functionality, which serves as a fundamental component for handling user accounts and access controls within the application. The vulnerability manifests as an improper access control mechanism that allows authenticated users to escalate their privileges and modify administrative credentials without proper authorization. This flaw operates at the intersection of inadequate input validation and flawed privilege management, creating a pathway for malicious actors who have already gained legitimate access to the system to further compromise administrative accounts. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it directly undermines the principle of least privilege and could enable attackers to gain full administrative control over the affected systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from unspecified vectors that likely involve manipulation of user permission flags, session tokens, or access control lists within the application's backend systems. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-285: Improper Authorization, which encompasses issues where the application fails to properly enforce access controls for authenticated users. The flaw specifically affects the application's ability to validate that users possess appropriate permissions before allowing modifications to administrative credentials. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could potentially manipulate database entries, modify user role assignments, or bypass authentication checks that should prevent standard users from accessing administrative functions. The distinction from related vulnerabilities CVE-2015-2953 and CVE-2015-2958 indicates that this represents a unique exploitation vector that targets the credential modification functionality rather than other aspects of user management or authentication.
Operationally, the impact of CVE-2015-2952 extends far beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the entire system. When authenticated users can bypass access restrictions to modify administrative credentials, they essentially gain the ability to take complete control of the application's user management system. This could lead to unauthorized data access, modification of critical system parameters, or complete system compromise. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the system, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1078: Valid Accounts and T1484: Domain Policy Modification, as it enables attackers to maintain persistent access through compromised administrative credentials and modify system policies through user account manipulation. The potential for lateral movement within networks increases significantly when administrative credentials are compromised, as these accounts typically possess elevated privileges across multiple system components.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-2952 should focus on immediate patching of affected versions, implementation of proper access control validation, and enhanced monitoring of credential modification activities. Organizations should ensure that all instances of Igreks MilkyStep Light 0.94 and earlier, as well as Professional 1.82 and earlier, are updated to versions that address this vulnerability. The fix should implement robust input validation and proper privilege checking mechanisms before allowing any modifications to administrative accounts. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual credential modification patterns, including unauthorized changes to administrative user accounts. Network segmentation and principle of least privilege should be enforced to limit the scope of potential damage even if the vulnerability is exploited. System administrators should also conduct thorough audits of user accounts and permissions to identify any potential compromise that may have occurred before patching. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation in security-sensitive applications and the necessity of regular security assessments to identify and remediate authorization flaws before they can be exploited by malicious actors.