CVE-2018-10224 in YzmCMS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in YzmCMS 3.8. There is a CSRF vulnerability that can add a tag via /index.php/admin/tag/add.html.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-10224 represents a cross-site request forgery flaw within YzmCMS version 3.8 that allows unauthorized users to inject malicious tags into the content management system through a specifically targeted administrative endpoint. This issue resides in the tag management functionality of the CMS, specifically at the /index.php/admin/tag/add.html path which serves as an entry point for adding new tags to the system. The flaw enables attackers to manipulate the CMS behavior without proper authentication or authorization, potentially leading to content injection or modification attacks that could compromise the integrity of the website's tagging system.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the administrative tag creation endpoint. When a user navigates to the tag addition page and submits a request to create a new tag, the system fails to verify that the request originates from a legitimate administrative session. This absence of CSRF protection allows an attacker to craft malicious HTML pages or email attachments that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to add unwanted tags to the system. The vulnerability operates under CWE-352 which classifies it as a Cross-Site Request Forgery weakness, where the application does not adequately validate the origin of requests made to sensitive functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple tag injection, as it represents a potential vector for more serious attacks within the CMS environment. An attacker could leverage this flaw to add malicious tags that might redirect users to phishing sites, inject malicious JavaScript code, or manipulate content categorization in ways that could affect SEO rankings or user experience. The vulnerability particularly affects websites using YzmCMS 3.8 where administrators have administrative privileges, as the attack requires a valid administrative session to be active. This makes the exploitation particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently access the CMS from public or shared computers where session hijacking might occur.
From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1546.008 which involves the use of legitimate credentials to execute commands or modify system configurations through administrative interfaces. The attack chain typically begins with the delivery of malicious content to an administrator's browser, followed by automatic execution of the tag addition request without the administrator's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability also aligns with T1071.004 which covers application layer protocol usage, as the attack exploits the HTTP protocol to manipulate the CMS through standard web interface interactions. Organizations should implement proper CSRF token validation mechanisms and consider additional security measures such as multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts to mitigate this risk.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the CMS codebase, particularly around administrative endpoints that allow data modification. The system should generate and validate unique tokens for each administrative session, ensuring that requests to sensitive functions like tag creation contain valid authentication tokens that correlate with the user's legitimate session. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious requests to administrative endpoints, as well as regular security audits to identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the CMS. The recommended solution involves upgrading to a patched version of YzmCMS that addresses the CSRF validation issues, along with implementing proper session management and access controls to prevent unauthorized administrative actions.