CVE-2015-4355 in Watchdog Aggregator Module
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Watchdog Aggregator module for Drupal allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that enable or disable monitoring sites via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2019
The CVE-2015-4355 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Watchdog Aggregator module for Drupal platforms. This vulnerability specifically targets administrative functions within the Drupal content management system, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on the platform's monitoring capabilities. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the authentication mechanisms of administrative users through unspecified vectors that manipulate CSRF tokens or session management. The Watchdog Aggregator module serves as a monitoring tool that tracks and reports on various system activities, making it a valuable target for attackers seeking to compromise system integrity and administrative control. This vulnerability particularly affects Drupal installations where the Watchdog Aggregator module is enabled, as it provides an attack surface that can be exploited without requiring elevated privileges or prior authentication.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of requests originating from authenticated administrative sessions. Attackers can craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the Drupal application but are actually designed to manipulate the monitoring site configurations. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the vulnerability description suggest that the flaw may manifest through multiple attack paths including but not limited to manipulated form submissions, crafted api calls, or session manipulation techniques. The vulnerability specifically targets the enable or disable monitoring site functionality, which represents a critical administrative operation that can significantly impact system monitoring capabilities and overall security posture. This flaw violates fundamental web application security principles by failing to properly verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it provides attackers with the ability to manipulate system monitoring configurations at will. Administrators may find their monitoring sites unexpectedly enabled or disabled without their knowledge or consent, potentially leading to security blind spots or unauthorized access to monitoring data. The ability to hijack administrative authentication for monitoring functions creates a persistent threat vector that can remain active until the vulnerability is patched or mitigated. Organizations utilizing Drupal with the Watchdog Aggregator module face significant risks including potential data exposure, system compromise, and disruption of critical monitoring operations. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers can exploit it from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the system or network, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with public-facing web applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-4355 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Drupal installations with the vendor-provided security updates. Organizations must ensure that all instances of the Watchdog Aggregator module are either updated to versions that address the CSRF vulnerability or completely disabled if monitoring functionality is not critical. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring for suspicious request patterns and blocking unauthorized administrative operations. The implementation of proper CSRF token validation mechanisms within the Drupal application framework serves as a fundamental defense against this class of attack. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive audits of all enabled Drupal modules to identify similar vulnerabilities and implement mandatory authentication verification for all administrative functions. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery flaws, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and proper request validation as outlined in various security frameworks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the privilege escalation and persistence tactics, as attackers can maintain unauthorized access to monitoring systems and potentially use the compromised monitoring infrastructure for further attacks.