CVE-2017-12838 in NexusPHP
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in NexusPHP 1.5 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that (1) send manas via a request to mybonus.php or (2) add administrators via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/13/2019
The CVE-2017-12838 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in NexusPHP version 1.5 that fundamentally undermines the application's authentication security model. This vulnerability operates by exploiting the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the web application's request processing flow, specifically targeting two distinct attack vectors that enable unauthorized administrative actions. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions through carefully crafted requests that leverage the trust relationship between the victim's browser and the vulnerable application.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the application's failure to validate the origin of requests originating from the mybonus.php endpoint and unspecified administrative functions. When users navigate to malicious websites or click on compromised links, their browsers automatically submit requests to the vulnerable NexusPHP application without their knowledge or explicit consent. The vulnerability specifically affects the manas sending functionality and administrator addition processes, which are critical administrative operations that can significantly impact system security and user data integrity.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe risk landscape where attackers can execute unauthorized actions with the privileges of authenticated users. The manas sending functionality, which appears to be a core currency or reward system within the application, can be exploited to drain user accounts or manipulate reward distributions. The administrator addition vector presents an even more dangerous attack surface, as successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise through unauthorized privilege escalation. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to create persistent backdoors, modify user permissions, or exfiltrate sensitive data from the compromised system.
Security practitioners should recognize this vulnerability as a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and proper session management practices. The flaw aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. The attack vector follows typical CSRF patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique of "T1078 - Valid Accounts" where attackers leverage legitimate user credentials to perform unauthorized actions. Organizations should implement robust anti-CSRF token mechanisms, validate request origins, and ensure proper session management protocols are in place to prevent such exploitation scenarios.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations within the NexusPHP application. The solution must include generating unique tokens for each user session and validating these tokens on every request that modifies application state. Additionally, implementing proper referer header validation and using the SameSite cookie attributes can provide additional layers of protection against CSRF attacks. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments of their web applications to identify similar vulnerabilities and ensure that all user-facing endpoints properly validate request authenticity. The remediation process must include thorough testing to verify that legitimate user operations remain functional while preventing unauthorized exploitation attempts.