CVE-2015-3347 in Cloudwords for Multilingual Module
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Cloudwords for Multilingual Drupal module before 7.x-2.3 for Drupal allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of unspecified victims via an unknown menu callback.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/19/2019
The CVE-2015-3347 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Cloudwords for Multilingual Drupal module, specifically affecting versions prior to 7.x-2.3. This vulnerability resides in the module's handling of menu callbacks, which are essential components for defining accessible paths and their associated access controls within the Drupal framework. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated user sessions by crafting malicious requests that leverage the victim's existing authentication context without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the referer header and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the affected module's menu callbacks. When a user with administrative privileges accesses certain administrative interfaces within the Cloudwords module, the application fails to verify that the request originates from a legitimate source within the same domain. This absence of proper validation creates an exploitable condition where an attacker can construct a malicious web page or email link that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically executes unauthorized actions within the context of the victim's session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it enables attackers to potentially gain elevated privileges and execute arbitrary commands within the Drupal environment. The unspecified nature of the affected victims suggests that any authenticated user with sufficient permissions could be targeted, including administrators who might have access to sensitive configuration settings, content management capabilities, or user account modifications. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the fundamental security model of web applications by allowing unauthorized actions to be performed under legitimate user credentials.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery flaws in web applications. The attack vector follows patterns consistent with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, involving the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities through crafted requests that leverage existing user sessions. The vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation and insufficient session management practices, which are common indicators of weak security controls in content management systems. Organizations utilizing the affected Drupal module would face significant risk of unauthorized access, data compromise, and potential full system compromise if attackers successfully exploited this flaw.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrading to version 7.x-2.3 or later of the Cloudwords for Multilingual module, which includes proper CSRF token implementation and enhanced validation of menu callback requests. Additionally, administrators should implement comprehensive security monitoring to detect unusual patterns in user activity and ensure that all Drupal modules are regularly updated to address known vulnerabilities. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional defense-in-depth, though the primary remediation must focus on patching the vulnerable module to restore proper session integrity and request validation mechanisms.