CVE-2018-12971 in EasyCMS
Summary
by MITRE
EasyCMS 1.3 has CSRF via the index.php?s=/admin/user/delAll URI to delete users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-12971 affects EasyCMS version 1.3 and represents a cross-site request forgery flaw that allows unauthorized users to delete user accounts through a specific URI endpoint. This vulnerability resides within the administrative functionality of the content management system where the index.php?s=/admin/user/delAll URI provides an interface for bulk user deletion without proper authentication or authorization checks. The flaw enables attackers to craft malicious requests that can be executed in the context of authenticated admin users, potentially leading to unauthorized account removal and disruption of system integrity.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-forgery tokens or proper session validation mechanisms within the targeted URI endpoint. When an authenticated administrator visits a malicious website or clicks on a crafted link containing the delete command, the browser automatically submits the request to the vulnerable EasyCMS instance without requiring additional authentication. This occurs because the application relies solely on the presence of valid session cookies or URL parameters for access control, failing to verify the authenticity of the request origin or validate that the action was intentionally initiated by the legitimate user.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple user account deletion to potentially compromise the entire administrative interface and user management capabilities of the CMS. An attacker could systematically remove multiple user accounts to disrupt services, create access control issues, or establish a false sense of security by eliminating evidence of unauthorized access attempts. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations relying on EasyCMS for content management, as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of user account management and could lead to data integrity issues, service disruption, and potential escalation to other system components if proper access controls are not maintained across the application.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-forgery token mechanisms throughout the application's administrative interface, particularly for destructive operations like user deletion. The system should require explicit validation of request origins and implement proper session management with unique tokens for each user session. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict input validation and implement proper access control checks that verify both authentication status and authorization levels before executing administrative commands. According to CWE guidelines, this vulnerability maps to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery flaws in web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique under the 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation' tactic, where attackers leverage web application vulnerabilities to gain elevated system access. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security audits to detect and prevent similar CSRF implementations in other parts of their web applications.