CVE-2018-14959 in WeaselCMS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in WeaselCMS v0.3.5. CSRF can create new pages via an index.php?b=pages&a=new URI.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/13/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-14959 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within WeaselCMS version 0.3.5. This weakness allows unauthorized attackers to manipulate the content management system by creating new pages without proper authentication. The vulnerability specifically affects the page creation functionality accessible through the index.php?b=pages&a=new URI endpoint, which lacks adequate CSRF protection mechanisms. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture where user requests are not properly validated for authenticity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in the page creation form submission process. When a user navigates to the page creation interface, the application fails to generate and validate unique tokens that would verify the request originates from an authenticated user session. This omission creates a pathway for attackers to craft malicious requests that, when executed by a victim's browser, result in unauthorized page creation. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and directly impacts the integrity of the content management system's access controls.
From an operational perspective, this CSRF vulnerability poses significant risks to content management system integrity and user data security. Attackers can exploit this flaw to inject malicious content, create unauthorized pages, or potentially establish persistent backdoors within the website structure. The impact extends beyond simple content manipulation as it undermines the trust model of the CMS, potentially allowing for more sophisticated attacks such as defacement or data exfiltration through newly created pages. The vulnerability affects all users of WeaselCMS v0.3.5 regardless of their authentication status, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. This classification emphasizes the fundamental flaw in request validation and session management that allows unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated users. Additionally, the vulnerability can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1059.001, where attackers leverage web application vulnerabilities to execute malicious code or manipulate system resources through crafted requests. Organizations using this vulnerable CMS version should immediately implement mitigations including CSRF token validation, proper request origin checking, and session management enhancements to prevent exploitation.
Recommended remediation strategies include implementing robust anti-CSRF token mechanisms across all state-changing operations within the CMS, enforcing strict referer header validation, and implementing proper session management protocols. The application should generate unique tokens for each user session and validate them during form submissions to ensure requests originate from legitimate authenticated users. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers and proper input validation can further strengthen the security posture against similar vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider upgrading to newer versions of WeaselCMS that have addressed this vulnerability or applying custom patches to implement the necessary security controls.