CVE-2017-2989 in Campaign
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Campaign versions Build 8770 and earlier have an input validation bypass that could be exploited to read, write, or delete data from the Campaign database.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2020
Adobe Campaign build 8770 and earlier versions contain a critical input validation bypass vulnerability that represents a significant security weakness in the platform's data handling mechanisms. This vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user inputs within the application's processing pipeline, allowing malicious actors to bypass normal access controls and directly interact with the underlying database system. The flaw exists at the application layer where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized or validated before being processed, creating an attack surface that can be exploited through crafted input sequences.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a failure in the application's parameter validation logic, which typically should enforce strict input sanitization and access control checks. When users submit data through various campaign management interfaces, the system does not adequately verify the legitimacy of the input parameters, enabling attackers to inject malicious payloads that can manipulate database operations. This weakness aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and represents a classic path for privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability specifically affects database operations that should be restricted to authorized personnel but can be executed by unauthorized users due to the bypass mechanism.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with unauthorized access to sensitive campaign data, potentially exposing confidential customer information, marketing strategies, and business intelligence. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform read operations that extract database contents, write operations that modify or corrupt campaign data, and delete operations that can result in complete data loss. This capability directly violates data integrity and confidentiality principles, potentially leading to significant business disruption, regulatory compliance violations, and reputational damage. The attack surface is particularly concerning because campaign management systems often contain sensitive personal data and business-critical information that organizations rely upon for their operations.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches released by Adobe, implementing network segmentation to limit access to campaign management systems, and deploying web application firewalls to monitor and filter suspicious input patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of defense-in-depth strategies and proper input validation controls as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation and credential access domains. Additional protective measures should include regular security assessments of application interfaces, implementation of least-privilege access controls, and enhanced monitoring of database access patterns to detect anomalous activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions to track and alert on unauthorized data access or modification operations that could indicate successful exploitation of this vulnerability.