CVE-2015-3356 in Tadaa! Module
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Tadaa! module before 7.x-1.4 for Drupal allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that (1) enable or (2) disable modules or (3) change variables via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/19/2019
The CVE-2015-3356 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery issue affecting the Tadaa! module for Drupal platforms prior to version 7.x-1.4. This vulnerability resides within the module's insufficient validation mechanisms that fail to properly authenticate and authorize administrative requests, creating a significant security risk for Drupal installations. The flaw specifically impacts the module's ability to distinguish between legitimate administrative actions and maliciously crafted requests that exploit user sessions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens in the module's administrative forms and endpoints. When administrators perform actions such as enabling or disabling modules, or modifying system variables through the Tadaa! module interface, the requests lack cryptographic verification that would confirm the request originated from an authenticated administrator rather than an attacker. This absence of validation creates a scenario where remote attackers can craft malicious web pages or emails containing specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, perform unintended administrative actions without the user's knowledge or consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows attackers to fundamentally alter the security posture of affected Drupal installations. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF flaw could enable malicious modules that provide backdoor access, disable security modules that protect against other attacks, or modify critical system variables that could compromise the entire platform. The vulnerability's scope is particularly concerning because it affects core administrative functions that are essential for maintaining the integrity and security of the web application environment. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a weakness where a web application fails to verify that requests originate from the authenticated user.
The attack vector for this vulnerability typically involves social engineering techniques where attackers craft malicious content that targets authenticated administrators. These attacks often leverage the trust relationship between the web browser and the Drupal application, exploiting the fact that browsers automatically include cookies and authentication tokens with requests to the same domain. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the vulnerability description suggest that multiple attack surfaces within the Tadaa! module's administrative interface are affected, making the attack surface larger than initially apparent. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which describes Valid Accounts as a method for maintaining persistence and access within compromised systems.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to Tadaa! module version 7.x-1.4 or later, which implements proper CSRF protection mechanisms including anti-forgery tokens and request validation. Additionally, administrators should review their existing module configurations and consider implementing additional security measures such as web application firewalls, monitoring for unusual administrative activities, and regular security audits of installed modules. The remediation process should also include educating administrators about the risks of clicking suspicious links or opening untrusted email attachments, as these remain common vectors for CSRF attacks. Organizations should also implement proper access controls and regularly review module permissions to minimize the impact of potential exploitation.