CVE-2017-9512 in FishEye
Summary
by MITRE
The mostActiveCommitters.do resource in Atlassian FishEye and Crucible, before version 4.4.1 allows anonymous remote attackers to access sensitive information, for example email addresses of committers, as it lacked permission checks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-9512 represents a critical authorization flaw in Atlassian FishEye and Crucible platforms, specifically affecting versions prior to 4.4.1. This issue resides within the mostActiveCommitters.do resource which serves as an endpoint for retrieving information about project committers. The flaw stems from inadequate permission validation mechanisms that fail to enforce proper access controls, allowing unauthenticated users to exploit this endpoint and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. The affected resource operates without requiring authentication or authorization checks, creating an entry point for malicious actors to harvest valuable information from the system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insufficient authorization checks, which aligns with CWE-863, also known as "Incorrect Authorization." The mostActiveCommitters.do endpoint was designed to provide committer statistics and activity data, but due to missing permission validation, any remote attacker could access this functionality without authentication. This flaw essentially creates a backdoor that bypasses the normal authentication and authorization mechanisms that should protect sensitive project information. The vulnerability exists at the application logic level where the system fails to verify whether the requesting entity has proper authorization to access the requested resource, allowing anonymous users to retrieve email addresses and other committer-related information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with actionable intelligence about project contributors and their contact information. This type of data exposure can enable social engineering attacks, targeted phishing campaigns, or even facilitate more sophisticated attacks by providing attackers with information about key personnel. The exposure of committer email addresses creates potential for credential harvesting attacks, where attackers might use this information to target specific individuals with spear-phishing attempts. Additionally, this vulnerability undermines the security posture of organizations using FishEye and Crucible, as it exposes the internal structure and contributor base of their source code repositories.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to FishEye and Crucible version 4.4.1 or later, which includes proper authentication checks for the affected endpoint. Network-level protections such as firewall rules can be implemented to restrict access to the vulnerable resource, though this approach is less secure than proper authentication enforcement. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns to the mostActiveCommitters.do endpoint, and organizations should review their access control policies to ensure that all endpoints properly validate user permissions. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of implementing principle of least privilege controls and conducting regular security assessments of web applications to identify similar authorization flaws.
This vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor authorization gaps can have significant security implications, particularly in development tools that handle sensitive source code and contributor information. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under privilege escalation and credential access techniques, where attackers leverage weak authorization controls to gain access to sensitive data. Organizations should consider implementing comprehensive security testing including penetration testing and code reviews to identify similar authorization flaws in their applications. The incident underscores the critical importance of proper access control implementation and the need for security awareness training for developers to prevent such issues in future software development cycles.