CVE-2018-12574 in TL-WR841N
Summary
by MITRE
CSRF exists for all actions in the web interface on TP-Link TL-WR841N v13 00000001 0.9.1 4.16 v0001.0 Build 180119 Rel.65243n devices.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-12574 represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness affecting TP-Link TL-WR841N v13 00000001 0091 416 v00010 Build 180119 Rel65243n devices. This flaw resides within the web interface of the wireless router, exposing all administrative actions to unauthorized manipulation. The vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms, specifically the lack of anti-CSRF tokens in web forms and API endpoints that handle configuration changes. According to CWE-352, this represents a classic cross-site request forgery vulnerability where an attacker can trick authenticated users into executing unintended administrative commands without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to perform arbitrary actions on the affected router through malicious web pages or crafted requests. Since the web interface lacks anti-CSRF tokens, any legitimate user session can be exploited by attackers who craft malicious requests that appear to originate from the authenticated user. This includes configuration changes, firmware updates, password modifications, and other administrative functions that require authentication. The vulnerability affects the entire web-based management interface of the device, making it particularly dangerous as it provides access to all administrative capabilities without proper session validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it allows attackers to completely compromise the router's configuration and potentially gain persistent access to the network. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can modify firewall settings, change administrator credentials, disable security features, and redirect network traffic through the compromised device. This creates a significant risk for network security and can lead to data breaches, man-in-the-middle attacks, and unauthorized network access. The vulnerability particularly affects home and small office networks where users may not be aware of the security implications of their router's exposed web interface.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate firmware updates from TP-Link, which would address the missing anti-CSRF protection mechanisms. Network administrators should also implement additional security measures such as disabling the web interface when not actively needed, restricting access to the management interface through firewall rules, and implementing network segmentation to limit the impact of potential exploitation. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1071.004 for Application Layer Protocol: DNS and T1059.001 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell, as attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access and execute commands through the compromised device. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts and ensure that all network devices are regularly updated with the latest security patches to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited.