CVE-2018-12642 in Froxlor
Summary
by MITRE
Froxlor through 0.9.39.5 has Incorrect Access Control for tickets not owned by the current user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-12642 affects Froxlor versions up to 0.9.39.5 and represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the application's security model. This issue specifically impacts the ticketing system within Froxlor, which is a web hosting control panel designed for managing various server components including web servers, mail servers, and databases. The vulnerability arises from improper validation of user permissions when accessing support tickets, creating a scenario where authenticated users can potentially view, modify, or interact with tickets that belong to other users within the same system.
The technical implementation flaw stems from insufficient input validation and access control checks within the ticket management functionality. When a user attempts to access a ticket through the Froxlor interface, the application fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has legitimate authorization to view or manipulate the specific ticket in question. This misconfiguration allows for privilege escalation through simple parameter manipulation or direct access attempts to ticket resources. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control, making it a direct violation of fundamental security principles that should be enforced at every level of application interaction.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on Froxlor for hosting management. An attacker with access to the system could exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized visibility into customer support tickets, potentially accessing sensitive information about other users' hosting configurations, security incidents, or technical issues. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it could enable further attacks through the exposure of system vulnerabilities, user credentials, or configuration details that might be referenced in support tickets. This access control failure undermines the trust model that hosting control panels must maintain between different user roles and tenants.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1566 which addresses credential access through various means. Attackers could leverage this flaw as part of a broader reconnaissance campaign to gather intelligence about system users and their hosting environments. The vulnerability also relates to T1087 which covers account discovery, as it allows for enumeration of user tickets and potentially associated user information. Organizations using Froxlor should consider this vulnerability as a critical component in their threat modeling and incident response planning, particularly when dealing with multi-tenant hosting environments where customer isolation is paramount.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-12642 primarily involve upgrading to Froxlor version 0.9.39.6 or later, which contains the necessary patches to enforce proper access controls for ticket management. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to ticket resources and establish network segmentation to limit potential exploitation. The fix typically involves strengthening the backend validation logic to ensure that all ticket access requests are properly authenticated and authorized against the ticket owner's identity. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their hosting environments to identify any other similar access control flaws and ensure that proper principle of least privilege is enforced across all application components.