CVE-2015-5530 in Free Reprintables ArticleFR
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Free Reprintables ArticleFR 3.0.6 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that add an administrator account via a request to dashboard/users/create/.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/11/2025
The CVE-2015-5530 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the Free Reprintables ArticleFR 3.0.6 web application that fundamentally compromises administrative security controls. This vulnerability exists within the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, specifically targeting the dashboard/users/create/ endpoint which handles administrator account creation requests. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between legitimate users and the web application by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from authenticated administrators.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the administrative account creation workflow. When administrators access the dashboard/users/create/ endpoint to add new administrator accounts, the application fails to verify that the request originates from a legitimate administrative session rather than a maliciously crafted request. This omission creates a pathway for attackers to leverage the administrator's authenticated session to perform unauthorized actions without requiring valid credentials. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the administrative privilege level, allowing attackers to escalate their access and establish persistent control over the application environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized account creation, as it fundamentally undermines the application's security model and trust boundaries. Attackers can leverage this flaw to inject malicious administrator accounts into the system, potentially gaining complete control over the web application's administrative functions. This includes access to sensitive data, modification of application configurations, and the ability to perform further attacks within the compromised environment. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the system, as unauthorized parties can manipulate the user management functionality to create backdoor accounts or disrupt legitimate administrative operations.
Security professionals should address this vulnerability through immediate implementation of anti-CSRF token mechanisms that validate the authenticity of administrative requests. The fix requires incorporating unique, unpredictable tokens that are generated per session and validated before processing any administrative account creation requests. This approach aligns with the CWE-352 standard for cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities and follows the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for privilege escalation through web application flaws. Organizations should also implement proper input validation, session management controls, and regular security assessments to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of their web applications. The remediation process must include comprehensive testing to ensure that all administrative endpoints properly validate request authenticity and that session management controls effectively prevent unauthorized access to privileged functions.