CVE-2015-7366 in Adserver
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Revive Adserver before 3.2.2 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that (1) perform certain plugin actions and possibly cause a denial of service (disabled core plugins) via unknown vectors or (2) change the contact name and language or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted POST request to an account-user-*.php script.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/21/2022
The CVE-2015-7366 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness in Revive Adserver versions prior to 3.2.2, exposing organizations to significant security risks through unauthorized administrative actions. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the authentication mechanisms of the ad server platform, allowing remote attackers to exploit user sessions without their knowledge or consent. The flaw manifests through two distinct attack vectors that can compromise system integrity and availability, making it particularly dangerous for digital advertising infrastructure that handles sensitive user data and advertising configurations.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the Revive Adserver framework. Attackers can craft malicious POST requests that appear to originate from legitimate users with administrative privileges, thereby bypassing the normal authentication checks that should prevent unauthorized modifications to system configurations. The vulnerability affects specific plugin actions that can lead to complete service disruption through core plugin disabling, as well as user account modifications that alter contact information and language settings. These attack vectors leverage the trust relationship between the web application and authenticated users, exploiting the fundamental assumption that requests originating from a user's browser are legitimate and authorized.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it can result in complete service disruption through plugin disabling that renders core functionality inoperable. When attackers exploit the first vector targeting plugin actions, they can potentially disable critical advertising modules, causing widespread service degradation or complete system failure. The second vector allows for contact information and language settings modification, which while seemingly less severe, can still provide attackers with footholds for further exploitation or create confusion in system administration. The unspecified other impacts suggest that additional attack surfaces may exist within the vulnerable platform, potentially including privilege escalation or data exfiltration capabilities that could be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks.
Organizations utilizing Revive Adserver versions prior to 3.2.2 face significant risk of unauthorized administrative access and service disruption from this vulnerability. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit these weaknesses from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or specialized local privileges. The attack complexity is relatively low since it only requires crafting specific POST requests, making it accessible to attackers with basic web application exploitation knowledge. Security teams should prioritize immediate remediation through the official 3.2.2 update release, which addresses the CSRF token implementation issues and proper request validation mechanisms. Additionally, network-level protections such as web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious POST requests can provide additional defense-in-depth measures while awaiting patch deployment.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications, and demonstrates how inadequate input validation and session management can create persistent security gaps. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 (Phishing with Social Engineering) and T1078.004 (Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts) as attackers can leverage legitimate user sessions to perform unauthorized actions. The vulnerability also represents a significant concern for organizations operating digital advertising platforms where unauthorized access could lead to revenue loss, data compromise, or service availability issues. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and ensure proper patch management processes are in place to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other web applications.