CVE-2016-1170 in Casebook Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Casebook plugin before 0.9.4 for baserCMS allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2019
The CVE-2016-1170 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the Casebook plugin for baserCMS versions prior to 094. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The issue stems from the plugin's failure to implement proper anti-CSRF measures, creating a significant security risk for administrators who use the baserCMS platform. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by tricking administrators into executing unintended actions through malicious web pages or links. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform administrative tasks without proper authorization, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs due to the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in the Casebook plugin's form submissions and API endpoints. When administrators interact with the plugin's administrative interface, the application does not validate the origin of requests or verify that the requests were initiated by the legitimate user. This design flaw enables attackers to craft malicious web pages that automatically submit requests to the baserCMS administration interface, leveraging the administrator's existing authenticated session. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it targets the administrative functionality of the CMS, providing attackers with elevated privileges and access to sensitive system controls. The attack vector typically involves sending crafted HTTP requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions, bypassing standard authentication mechanisms.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-1170 extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised baserCMS environment. Administrators may unknowingly execute actions such as creating new user accounts, modifying existing content, deleting database entries, or altering system configurations. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where administrators frequently access the CMS from shared or public networks, as the attack can be executed without requiring any credentials or authentication bypass techniques. The exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and potential lateral movement within the network infrastructure. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.002, which involves bypassing user access controls through session manipulation and authentication token exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1170 primarily focus on updating the Casebook plugin to version 0.9.4 or later, which includes proper CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all baserCMS plugins and core components remain up to date with the latest security fixes. The recommended solution involves implementing anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each request, ensuring that only legitimate requests originating from the authenticated user's browser are processed. Additional protective measures include configuring proper HTTP headers such as Content Security Policy to limit the scope of potential attacks, implementing rate limiting on administrative endpoints, and monitoring for unusual administrative activities. Security teams should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other CMS plugins and components. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and session management in web application security, reinforcing the need for robust security controls throughout the entire application lifecycle.