CVE-2017-20076 in Hindu Matrimonial Script
Summary
by MITRE • 06/21/2022
A vulnerability was found in Hindu Matrimonial Script. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /admin/searchview.php. The manipulation leads to improper privilege management. The attack can be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-20076 represents a critical security flaw within the Hindu Matrimonial Script web application, specifically targeting the administrative component located at /admin/searchview.php. This issue falls under the category of improper privilege management, which is classified as CWE-284 according to the Common Weakness Enumeration standards. The vulnerability's critical severity rating indicates that it presents a significant risk to the system's security posture and can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring any special privileges or authentication.
The technical flaw manifests in the inadequate enforcement of access controls within the administrative search view functionality, allowing unauthorized users to potentially bypass normal security restrictions and gain elevated privileges or access to restricted administrative features. This improper privilege management vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate user permissions before granting access to sensitive administrative functions. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious requests that manipulate the application's privilege checking mechanisms, potentially leading to complete administrative control over the web application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to perform arbitrary actions within the administrative interface including but not limited to user management, data modification, content manipulation, and potentially system-level operations depending on the application's architecture. The remote exploit capability means that attackers can leverage this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous for web applications that are publicly accessible. The public disclosure of the exploit further amplifies the risk as malicious actors can immediately implement the attack without requiring additional reconnaissance or development time.
Organizations utilizing the Hindu Matrimonial Script application should implement immediate mitigations including but not limited to restricting access to the vulnerable administrative endpoints through network-level controls, implementing robust authentication mechanisms, and ensuring proper input validation and privilege checking throughout the application. The vulnerability's classification as a privilege escalation issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1484 which covers unintended access to administrative privileges. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar privilege management flaws in other application components, while application firewalls and web application firewalls should be configured to monitor and block suspicious access patterns to administrative interfaces. The disclosure of this exploit underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that reduce the attack surface of web applications.