CVE-2015-9284 in OmniAuth Gem
Summary
by MITRE
The request phase of the OmniAuth Ruby gem is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery when used as part of the Ruby on Rails framework, allowing accounts to be connected without user intent, user interaction, or feedback to the user. This permits a secondary account to be able to sign into the web application as the primary account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/07/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-9284 affects the OmniAuth Ruby gem, a widely used authentication middleware for ruby on rails applications. This flaw exists specifically during the request phase of the authentication process, creating a critical security gap that undermines the integrity of user authentication flows. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates entirely without user consent or awareness, making it a sophisticated vector for unauthorized account takeovers and identity impersonation attacks. When integrated into ruby on rails frameworks, the OmniAuth gem becomes susceptible to cross-site request forgery attacks that can be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate authentication workflows.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate protection mechanisms during the authentication request phase. The OmniAuth gem fails to properly validate or verify the authenticity of incoming authentication requests, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the application's authentication system. This flaw directly relates to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities where web applications fail to validate the source of requests. The vulnerability permits attackers to create forged authentication requests that can establish connections between secondary accounts and primary accounts without any user interaction or explicit consent. The attack exploits the trust relationship between the authentication system and the application, leveraging the fact that the authentication process does not adequately verify the origin or intent of authentication requests.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-9284 extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, creating opportunities for account takeover, identity theft, and privilege escalation within affected applications. When exploited, this vulnerability allows malicious actors to silently connect attacker-controlled accounts to legitimate user accounts, enabling unauthorized sign-in capabilities and complete control over user sessions. This creates a dangerous scenario where users remain unaware of unauthorized account associations, potentially leading to data breaches, financial fraud, and reputational damage for organizations. The vulnerability affects applications that rely on OmniAuth for social login functionality, third-party authentication integrations, and any system where user identity verification is critical. The lack of user feedback or awareness during exploitation makes this attack particularly insidious and difficult to detect, as legitimate users may not realize their accounts have been compromised until unauthorized actions occur.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of the OmniAuth gem, implementing proper request validation mechanisms, and adding additional authentication layers. The recommended approach involves ensuring that all authentication requests undergo proper verification processes and that applications enforce strict origin checking for authentication endpoints. Security measures should include implementing anti-forgery tokens, validating request sources, and ensuring that authentication flows require explicit user confirmation before establishing account connections. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential access through social engineering and authentication bypass methods. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect unusual authentication patterns and account connection activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process requires careful review of authentication workflows and implementation of comprehensive security controls that address the root cause of the cross-site request forgery vulnerability in the OmniAuth implementation.