CVE-2018-1000053 in LimeSurvey
Summary
by MITRE
LimeSurvey version 3.0.0-beta.3+17110 contains a Cross ite Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Theme Uninstallation that can result in CSRF causing LimeSurvey admins to delete all their themes, rendering the website unusable. This attack appear to be exploitable via Simple HTML markup can be used to send a GET request to the affected endpoint.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1000053 resides within LimeSurvey version 3.0.0-beta.3+17110 and represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw that specifically targets the theme uninstallation functionality of the application. This vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of request origins and lacks proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the theme management interface, creating a significant security risk for administrators who manage the survey platform. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through crafted web requests that appear legitimate to the server.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms in the theme uninstallation endpoint. When administrators navigate to the theme management section of LimeSurvey, the application should validate that requests originate from legitimate sources within the same domain and contain appropriate anti-CSRF tokens. However, the vulnerable version fails to enforce such protections, allowing malicious actors to construct HTML markup that automatically triggers GET requests to the theme uninstallation URLs. This simple yet effective exploitation technique enables attackers to remotely initiate theme removal operations without administrator consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to potentially render the entire LimeSurvey instance unusable. When administrators are tricked into viewing malicious content that triggers the theme deletion process, they inadvertently cause the complete removal of all installed themes from the system. This results in a cascading failure where the user interface becomes non-functional since no themes remain available for rendering surveys and administrative panels. The consequences are particularly severe for organizations relying on LimeSurvey for critical data collection activities, as the platform becomes completely inaccessible until themes are manually restored or reinstalled.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw maps directly to ATT&CK technique T1213.002, which covers data from information repositories, as the attacker can manipulate the application's theme repository to compromise system usability. The attack vector demonstrates how simple HTML-based payloads can be used to exploit authentication and authorization gaps in web applications, particularly when endpoints lack proper origin validation and token-based request verification. Organizations should consider implementing comprehensive CSRF protection measures including anti-CSRF tokens, proper origin validation, and request method restrictions to prevent similar vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of LimeSurvey installations to versions that address the CSRF implementation flaws in theme management functions. Administrators should also implement additional security controls such as content security policies that restrict embedded content execution, regular monitoring of theme management activities for unauthorized modifications, and user education about the dangers of viewing untrusted content that might contain malicious HTML markup. The remediation process must ensure that all endpoints handling administrative functions require proper authentication verification and that GET requests are not used for operations that modify system state, as this pattern creates inherent security risks that can be exploited through simple HTML-based attacks.