CVE-2017-0369 in MediaWiki
Summary
by MITRE
Mediawiki before 1.28.1 / 1.27.2 / 1.23.16 contains a flaw, allowing a sysops to undelete pages, although the page is protected against it.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/27/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-0369 represents a critical access control flaw within the MediaWiki content management system that affects versions prior to 1.28.1, 1.27.2, and 1.23.16. This issue specifically targets the permission model and page protection mechanisms that are fundamental to maintaining data integrity and access control within wiki environments. The flaw allows malicious or unauthorized system operators with sysop privileges to bypass page protection restrictions and undelete pages that should remain permanently deleted. This vulnerability directly undermines the security model that wiki administrators rely upon to maintain control over content lifecycle management and prevents the enforcement of protection policies that are crucial for preventing unauthorized content restoration.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from a flaw in the page undeletion process where the system fails to properly validate protection status during the undeletion operation. When a page is protected against undeletion, the MediaWiki system should enforce this restriction regardless of user privileges. However, the vulnerability allows sysops to circumvent this protection by exploiting an inconsistency in the permission checking mechanism. The flaw likely exists in the logic that determines whether a user can perform undeletion operations, where the system does not properly cross-reference the current protection status of a page with the user's ability to perform such operations. This represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks, which aligns with CWE-693, which covers protection mechanism failures. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and does not require special privileges beyond existing sysop access, making it particularly dangerous as it exploits legitimate administrative capabilities to bypass intended security controls.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-0369 extends beyond simple content restoration and represents a significant threat to data integrity and information security within MediaWiki installations. When exploited, this vulnerability allows attackers to potentially restore deleted content that was intentionally removed for security, privacy, or compliance reasons. This could include sensitive information, confidential documents, or content that was deleted to comply with data retention policies. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it leverages existing administrative privileges, meaning that the vulnerability can be exploited by insiders or compromised administrators without requiring additional access. This could lead to data exposure, compliance violations, and potential regulatory consequences for organizations that rely on MediaWiki for content management. The vulnerability also undermines the trust model within wiki environments where administrators depend on protection mechanisms to maintain control over their content repositories, potentially leading to unauthorized content modification or exposure of previously deleted information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-0369 should prioritize immediate patching of affected MediaWiki installations to versions 1.28.1, 1.27.2, or 1.23.16 where the vulnerability has been resolved. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring of undeletion activities within their wiki systems to detect potential exploitation attempts. The patch addresses the underlying authorization flaw by ensuring proper validation of page protection status during undeletion operations. Additionally, security teams should conduct thorough audits of existing wiki configurations to identify any pages that may have been improperly protected or where protection mechanisms may have been bypassed. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of principle of least privilege enforcement, where administrative privileges should be carefully reviewed and limited to only those users who require such access. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability relates to privilege escalation techniques where existing access is used to bypass security controls, specifically mapping to techniques involving the exploitation of system vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to protected resources. Organizations should also consider implementing additional logging and alerting mechanisms around page protection changes and undeletion activities to provide better visibility into potential exploitation attempts.