CVE-2017-11667 in OpenProject
Summary
by MITRE
OpenProject before 6.1.6 and 7.x before 7.0.3 mishandles session expiry, which allows remote attackers to perform APIv3 requests indefinitely by leveraging a hijacked session.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/14/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-11667 affects OpenProject versions prior to 6.1.6 and 7.x versions before 7.0.3, representing a critical session management flaw that undermines the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms. This issue stems from improper handling of session expiration events within the APIv3 interface, creating a persistent security weakness that allows unauthorized access to system resources.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's failure to properly validate session state during APIv3 requests. When a user's session expires due to inactivity or explicit termination, the system should invalidate the session token and reject subsequent requests that reference the expired session. However, OpenProject's implementation allows attackers to reuse hijacked session tokens indefinitely, bypassing the intended session lifecycle management. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of CWE-613 and CWE-306, as it combines inadequate session handling with improper access control enforcement. The flaw specifically affects the APIv3 endpoint which is commonly used by external applications and automated scripts to interact with OpenProject's functionality.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables remote attackers to maintain persistent access to the system without requiring valid credentials or authentication tokens. An attacker who successfully hijacks a session token can continue making APIv3 requests indefinitely, potentially gaining access to sensitive project data, modifying records, creating new entries, or executing administrative functions. This persistent access capability significantly amplifies the damage potential, as it allows for prolonged unauthorized access that may go undetected for extended periods. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which describes valid accounts usage through legitimate access to systems, and T1566.001, representing social engineering through spearphishing with links that result in session hijacking.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-11667 require immediate implementation of the vendor-provided patches and updates to versions 6.1.6 and 7.0.3 respectively. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring and logging of APIv3 access patterns to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate session hijacking attempts. Security teams should review and enforce proper session timeout configurations, implement robust session invalidation mechanisms, and consider implementing additional authentication layers such as API key rotation or multi-factor authentication for critical API endpoints. Network-level monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual API access patterns and unauthorized session reuse, while regular security audits should verify that session management policies are properly enforced across all application interfaces.