CVE-2016-7572 in Drupal
Summary
by MITRE
The system.temporary route in Drupal 8.x before 8.1.10 does not properly check for "Export configuration" permission, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and read a full config export via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/22/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7572 affects Drupal 8.x versions prior to 8.1.10 and specifically targets the system.temporary route within the Drupal framework. This issue represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the security model of the content management system by allowing authenticated users to bypass intended permission checks. The vulnerability resides in the configuration export functionality where the system fails to properly validate whether users possess the required "Export configuration" permission before granting access to sensitive system configuration data. This misconfiguration creates a pathway for malicious actors who have authenticated access to the system to extract comprehensive configuration information that should remain restricted to authorized administrators.
The technical implementation flaw stems from inadequate input validation and permission verification within the system.temporary route handler. When users attempt to access configuration export functionality, the system should verify that the requesting user possesses the appropriate administrative privileges before proceeding with the export operation. However, in affected versions, this validation process is either completely bypassed or inadequately implemented, allowing any authenticated user to traverse the normal access control mechanisms. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the vulnerability may be exploitable through multiple attack paths, potentially including direct API calls, web interface interactions, or indirect methods that leverage existing authenticated sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables unauthorized access to sensitive system configuration data that could include database connection strings, module configurations, user role definitions, and other critical system parameters. This information exposure could facilitate further attacks by providing attackers with detailed knowledge of the system architecture and potential weaknesses. The compromise of configuration data may also lead to privilege escalation opportunities, as attackers could identify additional access points or misconfigurations that were previously hidden from authenticated users. The vulnerability essentially undermines the principle of least privilege by allowing users to access information that should only be available to system administrators or users with specific configuration access rights.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the security principle that access to sensitive functionality should be strictly controlled based on user permissions. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a privilege escalation technique, potentially enabling adversaries to move laterally within the system or gain additional capabilities through the exposure of system configuration details. Organizations running affected Drupal versions face substantial risk of configuration data theft, which could be exploited to plan more sophisticated attacks against their infrastructure. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation and the potential consequences of inadequate permission validation in web applications.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrade to Drupal 8.1.10 or later versions where the access control flaw has been addressed through proper permission validation in the system.temporary route. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to configuration export functionality and consider implementing network-level controls to restrict access to sensitive administrative endpoints. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of their Drupal installations to ensure all systems are updated and that proper access controls are in place for configuration management functions. The vulnerability highlights the necessity of regular security updates and the importance of maintaining current software versions to protect against known exploits that could compromise system integrity and data confidentiality.