CVE-2017-8385 in Craft
Summary
by MITRE
Craft CMS before 2.6.2976 does not prevent modification of the URL in a forgot-password email message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/22/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8385 affects Craft CMS versions prior to 2.6.2976 and represents a critical security flaw in the password reset functionality. This issue stems from insufficient validation of URL parameters within forgot-password email messages, creating a potential vector for malicious actors to manipulate the reset process. The vulnerability allows attackers to craft specially formatted password reset emails that could redirect users to malicious domains or manipulate the reset workflow in unintended ways.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the email message generation process where the system fails to properly sanitize or validate the URLs included in password reset notifications. When users receive forgot-password emails, the system constructs reset links that contain parameters which should be strictly controlled and validated. However, Craft CMS before the patched version does not adequately verify these URLs, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary domains or modify existing URLs within the reset mechanism. This represents a classic case of insufficient input validation and output encoding that can be categorized under CWE-601 URL Redirection to Untrusted Site Vulnerability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it creates opportunities for sophisticated social engineering attacks and credential theft. An attacker who gains access to the email system or can intercept password reset emails can modify the reset URLs to point to phishing domains that mimic the legitimate Craft CMS interface. Users who click these manipulated links may unknowingly provide their credentials to attackers, leading to full account compromise. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which involves phishing with malicious links and can facilitate further lateral movement within compromised systems.
Organizations using affected Craft CMS versions face significant risk of credential theft and unauthorized access to their content management systems. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the user interaction level, making it difficult to detect through automated security scanning alone. The impact is amplified when considering that many organizations rely on Craft CMS for managing sensitive content and user data, making successful exploitation potentially devastating. Security teams should immediately assess their deployment environments to identify all affected installations and prioritize patching efforts.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to Craft CMS version 2.6.2976 or later, which includes proper URL validation and sanitization mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should implement email monitoring systems to detect suspicious password reset activities and consider implementing multi-factor authentication as an additional security layer. Network administrators should also review email security configurations to ensure that only legitimate domains can send password reset emails through their infrastructure. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of validating all user-controllable inputs in web applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor oversights in URL handling can create significant security risks.