CVE-2018-10986 in OX Guard
Summary
by MITRE
OX Guard 2.8.0 has CSRF.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-10986 represents a cross-site request forgery flaw within OX Guard version 2.8.0, a web-based email security solution designed to protect organizations from various email threats including spam, malware, and phishing attacks. This vulnerability resides in the application's web interface and stems from insufficient validation of request origins, allowing malicious actors to exploit the system through crafted web requests that appear to originate from legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs when the OX Guard application fails to properly verify the referer header or implement anti-CSRF tokens in critical administrative functions. When authenticated users navigate to malicious websites or click on compromised links, attackers can trick these users into performing unintended actions within the OX Guard application without their knowledge or consent. The flaw specifically affects administrative operations that modify security policies, user configurations, or system settings, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on the platform for email protection.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive email security configurations, potentially allowing them to bypass security controls, modify user permissions, or even redirect email traffic through compromised gateway settings. This represents a significant risk for organizations where OX Guard serves as a critical component of their email infrastructure security posture. The vulnerability could be exploited to establish persistent access to email systems, making it a prime target for attackers seeking long-term footholds within enterprise networks.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations within the OX Guard interface, proper validation of referer headers, and enforcement of strict origin checking mechanisms. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious administrative activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an ATT&CK perspective, this flaw maps to technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing campaigns that could leverage this vulnerability. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to provide additional protection layers and ensure that all users are running the latest patched versions of OX Guard to prevent exploitation attempts.