CVE-2016-4886 in BaserCMS
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in baserCMS plugin Mail version 3.0.10 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/25/2020
The CVE-2016-4886 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the baserCMS plugin Mail version 3.0.10 and earlier releases. This vulnerability resides within the web application's authentication mechanisms and specifically targets administrator accounts, creating a significant security risk for organizations utilizing this content management system. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the web application and its authenticated users, potentially allowing unauthorized administrative actions to be performed on behalf of legitimate administrators without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the plugin's web forms and API endpoints. When administrators interact with the mail plugin functionality, the application fails to validate the origin of requests or implement unique tokens that would verify the legitimacy of user-initiated actions. This allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, would perform unintended operations within the application context. The vulnerability manifests through unspecified vectors, suggesting that multiple attack paths exist within the plugin's architecture that could be exploited to bypass authentication mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or modification, as it directly compromises the administrative integrity of baserCMS installations. Attackers could potentially execute administrative functions such as creating new user accounts, modifying existing user permissions, changing system configurations, or even deleting critical data. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require physical access to the target system or any privileged network position, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with remote workers or public-facing web applications. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in web applications, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in security design.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to the patched version of the baserCMS plugin Mail or applying the appropriate security patches provided by the vendor. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms should be enforced across all administrative interfaces and forms within the application. Security teams should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging of administrative activities to detect potential exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, specifically targeting the T1078 and T1566 tactics. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their baserCMS installations to identify any other potentially vulnerable plugins or components that may exhibit similar CSRF vulnerabilities, as the presence of one such flaw often indicates broader architectural security weaknesses that require comprehensive remediation strategies.