CVE-2018-15539 in Cockpit
Summary
by MITRE
Agentejo Cockpit lacks an anti-CSRF protection mechanism. Thus, an attacker is able to change API tokens, passwords, etc.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15539 affects Agentejo Cockpit, a content management system that fails to implement adequate anti-cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms. This critical security flaw stems from the application's inability to validate the origin of HTTP requests, particularly those targeting sensitive API endpoints. The absence of CSRF protection allows malicious actors to exploit the system's trust in authenticated sessions, enabling unauthorized modifications to critical user credentials and API access tokens. The vulnerability manifests when an attacker crafts malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate authenticated users, bypassing standard authentication checks and session validation protocols.
This weakness represents a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture, specifically violating the principle of least privilege and proper request validation. The technical implementation lacks the necessary anti-CSRF tokens or origin validation mechanisms that would normally prevent unauthorized actions from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by tricking victims into clicking malicious links or visiting compromised websites that submit requests to the Cockpit API endpoints. The flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the authentication and authorization mechanisms, making it particularly dangerous for systems where users maintain elevated privileges or have access to sensitive data repositories.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it enables attackers to completely compromise user accounts and potentially gain unauthorized access to the entire system. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can modify user passwords, reset API tokens, and potentially escalate privileges within the application. This creates a cascading security risk where a single compromised user account can provide access to sensitive content management functions, user data, and system configurations. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the entire Cockpit deployment, as unauthorized modifications can occur without detection by legitimate users or system monitoring tools.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing requests, proper origin validation checks, and implementation of SameSite cookie attributes. The solution aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. Security controls should include mandatory CSRF token validation for all authenticated API endpoints, particularly those related to user authentication and configuration changes. Additionally, implementing proper session management protocols and monitoring for unusual API access patterns can help detect exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation and credential access techniques, emphasizing the need for robust session validation and request origin verification. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in their application stacks and ensure comprehensive protection against automated exploitation attempts.