CVE-2015-8628 in MediaWiki
Summary
by MITRE
The (1) Special:MyPage, (2) Special:MyTalk, (3) Special:MyContributions, (4) Special:MyUploads, and (5) Special:AllMyUploads pages in MediaWiki before 1.23.12, 1.24.x before 1.24.5, 1.25.x before 1.25.4, and 1.26.x before 1.26.1 allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive user login information via crafted links combined with page view statistics.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/12/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-8628 represents a significant information disclosure flaw within MediaWiki's special pages functionality, specifically affecting versions prior to the mentioned secure releases. This issue impacts five critical special pages including Special:MyPage, Special:MyTalk, Special:MyContributions, Special:MyUploads, and Special:AllMyUploads, which are designed to provide personalized user interfaces for accessing individual account information and contributions. The flaw stems from improper handling of user session data and authentication tokens within these pages, creating a pathway for unauthorized access to sensitive login information through carefully constructed malicious links.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the way MediaWiki processes and displays user-specific data in these special pages. When users navigate to these pages, the system should properly authenticate and authorize access to ensure that only the authenticated user can view their own information. However, the flaw allows remote attackers to craft specific URLs that can extract session identifiers, authentication tokens, or other sensitive data that would normally be protected within the user's authenticated context. This occurs because the special pages fail to adequately validate the user's credentials or verify that the requested information belongs to the currently authenticated session, creating a direct information disclosure vector.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it enables attackers to potentially impersonate users within the MediaWiki environment. By obtaining valid login information through these crafted links, malicious actors could gain unauthorized access to user accounts, potentially leading to account takeovers, data manipulation, or further exploitation within the wiki system. The vulnerability affects the fundamental security model of MediaWiki's user authentication system, undermining the trust model that should protect individual user sessions and their associated data. This issue particularly impacts organizations relying on MediaWiki for collaborative platforms where user privacy and account security are paramount, as it could enable attackers to access confidential user information or manipulate contributions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve immediate deployment of the patched versions of MediaWiki as recommended by the vendor, which include releases 1.23.12, 1.24.5, 1.25.4, and 1.26.1 respectively. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as monitoring for unusual access patterns in special pages, implementing proper session management controls, and ensuring that all user sessions are properly validated before displaying sensitive information. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and access control lists can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses information disclosure vulnerabilities, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1213, focusing on data from information repositories, highlighting the critical nature of protecting user authentication data within web applications. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security auditing of all special pages and user interface components to identify similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities that might exist in other parts of the MediaWiki codebase.