CVE-2018-15206 in SmartVista
Summary
by MITRE
BPC SmartVista 2 has CSRF via SVFE2/pages/admpages/roles/createrole.jsf.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/11/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15206 affects BPC SmartVista 2 software, specifically targeting the administrative role creation functionality within the SVFE2/pages/admpages/roles/createrole.jsf component. This represents a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows attackers to perform unauthorized administrative actions without proper authentication. The flaw exists in the web application's lack of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the role creation page, making it susceptible to exploitation by malicious actors who can craft malicious requests to manipulate user roles within the system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and token management within the JSF (JavaServer Faces) based administrative interface. When an administrator navigates to the role creation page, the application should validate that requests originate from legitimate sources by implementing anti-CSRF tokens. However, in this case, the system fails to properly validate these tokens or implement adequate protection mechanisms, allowing attackers to forge requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators. This vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in web applications. The weakness manifests when the application processes requests without verifying the authenticity of the request source, creating a pathway for unauthorized privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables attackers to create new administrative roles or modify existing ones within the BPC SmartVista 2 environment. Successful exploitation could allow threat actors to establish persistent access to the system, escalate privileges, or create backdoor accounts that remain undetected by normal security monitoring. This could lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or disruption of business operations. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the application's access control mechanisms, potentially allowing unauthorized users to gain administrative privileges and control over critical business processes managed by the BPC SmartVista platform. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to the ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation through the exploitation of weak access control mechanisms.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the web application framework. Organizations should ensure that all administrative functions require proper validation of anti-CSRF tokens before processing requests, with tokens being generated per session and validated on each request. The implementation should follow industry best practices such as those outlined in OWASP CSRF Prevention Cheat Sheet, which recommends using synchronizer tokens for protecting state-changing operations. Additionally, organizations should implement proper input validation, session management, and access control mechanisms to prevent unauthorized administrative actions. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the application. The fix should include proper token generation and validation for the specific JSF component mentioned in the vulnerability, ensuring that all requests to the createrole.jsf page are properly authenticated and authorized before any role creation or modification occurs.