CVE-2015-4390 in User Import Module
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the User Import module 6.x-4.x before 6.x-4.4 and 7.x-2.x before 7.x-2.3 for Drupal allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) continue or (2) delete an ongoing import via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4390 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the User Import module for Drupal platforms. This security weakness affects versions 6.x-4.x prior to 6.x-4.4 and 7.x-2.x prior to 7.x-2.3, creating a significant risk for organizations utilizing these outdated Drupal versions. The vulnerability stems from inadequate CSRF protection mechanisms within the user import functionality, specifically targeting administrative accounts that possess elevated privileges. Attackers can exploit this flaw to manipulate ongoing import operations through carefully crafted malicious requests that appear legitimate to the target system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the absence of proper CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the import module's administrative interface. When administrators perform user import operations, the system should validate that requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions rather than from external malicious actors. However, the flawed implementation allows unauthorized parties to forge requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators, enabling them to manipulate the import process. The vulnerability specifically impacts two critical operations: continuing existing import processes and deleting ongoing imports, both of which can result in significant data integrity issues and potential system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it provides attackers with the ability to disrupt critical administrative functions within Drupal installations. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability could potentially interrupt legitimate import operations, causing data loss or system instability, or worse, delete ongoing import processes that may contain critical user data. This capability allows for both disruptive and destructive attacks, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in production environments where user import operations are regularly performed. The attack surface is further expanded because the vulnerability affects the administrative interface, meaning successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise if combined with other vulnerabilities or if the compromised administrator has access to sensitive system functions.
Organizations should immediately upgrade their Drupal installations to versions that include patched implementations of the User Import module, specifically versions 6.x-4.4 and 7.x-2.3 or later. The remediation process requires careful attention to ensure that all affected modules are properly updated and that existing import processes are monitored for any signs of compromise. Security teams should implement additional monitoring for unusual import activities and establish proper access controls to limit administrative privileges. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses, and represents a significant concern under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and additional input validation measures to provide defense-in-depth against similar CSRF attacks targeting other Drupal modules and components.