CVE-2016-4909 in Garoon
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Cybozu Garoon 3.0.0 to 4.2.2 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of a logged in user to force a logout via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/26/2020
The CVE-2016-4909 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Cybozu Garoon versions 3.0.0 through 4.2.2. This vulnerability resides within the web application framework's session management mechanisms and specifically targets the authentication state of logged-in users. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions through crafted malicious requests that exploit the application's failure to properly validate request origins. The vulnerability's impact extends to user session hijacking where attackers can force unauthorized logout operations, effectively disrupting legitimate user access and potentially leading to complete session termination. The unspecified vectors suggest that the attack could be executed through various methods including but not limited to malicious web pages, email attachments, or compromised third-party websites that leverage the victim's authenticated browser session.
From a technical perspective, this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the referer header or missing anti-forgery tokens in the application's request processing pipeline. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw manifests when the Garoon application fails to implement proper origin validation mechanisms that would typically include checking the referer header against known good values or implementing unique tokens that are tied to the user's session. The attack vector exploits the trust relationship between the user's browser and the vulnerable application, where legitimate requests from the user's authenticated session are being manipulated by malicious actors to perform unauthorized actions. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which focuses on using compromised credentials to perform unauthorized actions within web applications, particularly through session manipulation techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple logout functionality and represents a significant threat to application security and user trust. When exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to effectively terminate user sessions at will, potentially forcing users to repeatedly re-authenticate and disrupting business operations. The ability to hijack authentication states creates opportunities for more sophisticated attacks including session fixation, where attackers can establish their own session cookies and gain unauthorized access to user accounts. Organizations using affected versions of Garoon face potential data exposure risks as compromised sessions could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information stored within the application. The vulnerability particularly affects collaborative environments where Garoon serves as a central authentication and collaboration platform, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to disrupt business continuity.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-4909 should prioritize immediate application updates to versions that address the CSRF vulnerability through proper implementation of anti-forgery token mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive session management policies that include automatic session timeout mechanisms, proper referer header validation, and the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious cross-site request patterns. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any custom applications or integrations that may be vulnerable to similar CSRF attacks within their environment. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and proper CSRF token generation and validation should be enforced across all web applications to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring. Additionally, regular security awareness training for users about the dangers of clicking suspicious links and visiting untrusted websites can help reduce the success rate of CSRF attacks targeting user sessions in collaborative environments.