CVE-2015-6007 in Web Reference Database
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Web Reference Database (aka refbase) through 0.9.6 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/08/2024
The CVE-2015-6007 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the Web Reference Database system, commonly known as refbase version 0.9.6 and earlier. This vulnerability exposes the application to unauthorized manipulation by malicious actors who can exploit the lack of proper CSRF protection mechanisms. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to perform authenticated actions on behalf of arbitrary users without their knowledge or consent, effectively hijacking their authentication sessions. The flaw specifically affects the web application's inability to validate the origin of requests, creating a pathway for attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or similar protective measures within the refbase application's request handling mechanism. When users authenticate to the system, their session credentials are typically stored in cookies or other session management mechanisms that persist across requests. However, the refbase application fails to implement proper CSRF protection by not requiring unique tokens that tie requests to specific user sessions or by not validating the referer header and other request attributes that could help establish request legitimacy. This absence of validation allows attackers to construct malicious web pages or send crafted requests that leverage existing user sessions, bypassing normal authentication checks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to perform unauthorized actions within the context of authenticated user sessions. An attacker could potentially modify user profiles, delete references, add malicious entries, or perform other administrative functions depending on the user's privileges within the refbase system. The vulnerability affects the entire user base since any authenticated user session can be hijacked, making it particularly dangerous for applications that handle sensitive bibliographic or research data. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the target system or network, significantly expanding the attack surface.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in web applications. The flaw demonstrates a failure in implementing proper request validation and session management controls that are fundamental to web application security. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability would typically be categorized under the web application attack patterns within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, specifically relating to credential access and privilege escalation techniques. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies, as the lack of CSRF protection represents a critical gap in the application's security posture that could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and functionality.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-6007 should include immediate implementation of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each request, ensuring that requests originate from the legitimate application rather than malicious third-party sites. Organizations should also implement proper referer header validation and consider implementing additional security measures such as SameSite cookie attributes and origin validation checks. The refbase application should be upgraded to versions that include proper CSRF protection mechanisms, and security reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other application components. Regular security testing and code reviews are essential to prevent such issues from occurring in future releases, particularly focusing on session management and request validation controls.