CVE-2016-6806 in Wicket
Summary
by MITRE
Apache Wicket 6.x before 6.25.0, 7.x before 7.5.0, and 8.0.0-M1 provide a CSRF prevention measure that fails to discover some cross origin requests. The mitigation is to not only check the Origin HTTP header, but also take the Referer HTTP header into account when no Origin was provided. Furthermore, not all Wicket server side targets were subjected to the CSRF check. This was also fixed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/28/2020
Apache Wicket versions prior to 6.25.0, 7.5.0, and 8.0.0-M1 contain a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that undermines the framework's security mechanisms. This vulnerability stems from an incomplete implementation of CSRF protection that fails to properly validate cross-origin requests, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors. The flaw specifically affects the framework's ability to distinguish between legitimate and malicious requests originating from different domains, potentially allowing attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of the CSRF protection mechanism in these vulnerable versions relies primarily on the Origin HTTP header for validation purposes. However, this approach proves insufficient because many browsers do not send Origin headers for certain types of requests, particularly those initiated from web applications that do not explicitly set the header. This limitation creates a gap in the security model that attackers can exploit by crafting requests that bypass the validation checks. The vulnerability manifests when the framework fails to consider the Referer HTTP header as a fallback mechanism when the Origin header is absent or invalid, which represents a deviation from industry best practices for CSRF protection implementation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple request forgery, as it affects multiple server-side targets within the Wicket framework that were not consistently subjected to CSRF checks. This inconsistent application of security measures creates multiple potential entry points for attackers, increasing the overall risk surface. The vulnerability allows malicious actors to perform authenticated actions without proper authorization, potentially leading to data manipulation, unauthorized transactions, or privilege escalation within applications built on the affected Wicket versions. This weakness directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of web applications that rely on Wicket for their user interface and security mechanisms.
The fix implemented in the patched versions addresses the core flaw by expanding the validation scope to include both Origin and Referer headers when making CSRF determinations. This approach aligns with established security practices and provides a more robust defense mechanism against cross-site request forgery attacks. The mitigation strategy follows the principle of defense in depth by ensuring that multiple validation layers are employed, reducing the likelihood that a single point of failure will compromise the entire security framework. Organizations using affected Wicket versions should immediately upgrade to the patched releases to eliminate this vulnerability and maintain the security integrity of their web applications.
This vulnerability classification maps to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) weaknesses in web applications. The implementation flaw demonstrates a failure to properly validate request origins, which is a common pattern in CSRF attacks that exploit the trust relationship between web applications and browsers. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability falls under the T1566.001 technique for Initial Access through valid accounts, as it enables attackers to leverage authenticated sessions to execute unauthorized operations. The fix addresses these concerns by implementing comprehensive header validation that prevents attackers from bypassing security controls through malformed or missing HTTP headers. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security measures such as anti-CSRF tokens and strict content security policies to further strengthen their defenses against similar vulnerabilities.