CVE-2017-14595 in Joomla
Summary
by MITRE
In Joomla! before 3.8.0, a logic bug in a SQL query could lead to the disclosure of article intro texts when these articles are in the archived state.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/13/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14595 represents a critical access control flaw within the Joomla, they should typically be restricted from normal public viewing access, yet this vulnerability allows unauthorized disclosure of article introduction texts through improper query handling.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the database abstraction layer of Joomla! where SQL queries are constructed to filter archived content. The logic error occurs during the query building process where the conditional statements governing access control for archived articles fail to properly enforce the intended restrictions. This flaw falls under the category of improper access control as defined by CWE-284, specifically manifesting as a weakness in the authorization mechanism that allows unauthorized information disclosure. The vulnerability operates at the application level within the database query interface, where the SQL construction logic does not adequately validate or restrict access to archived content based on proper state management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables attackers to access sensitive content that should remain hidden in the archived state. This unauthorized access to article intro texts can compromise the confidentiality of information that administrators intended to keep private or restricted. The vulnerability affects all users who can access the public-facing portions of a Joomla! site, potentially exposing sensitive information contained within archived articles that may include personal data, business information, or other confidential content. The flaw essentially undermines the content management system's intended security model for handling archived versus published content, creating a persistent backdoor for information leakage.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of the official Joomla installations to ensure all related vulnerabilities have been addressed and implement proper access control auditing to verify that archived content restrictions are properly enforced. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and access control implementation in database-driven applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1213 for data from information repositories and T1078 for valid accounts as it exploits legitimate access paths to obtain unauthorized information disclosure.