CVE-2018-15569 in My Little Forum
Summary
by MITRE
my little forum 2.4.12 allows CSRF for deletion of users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/16/2020
This vulnerability exists in my little forum version 2.4.12 where the application fails to implement proper cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms for user deletion functionality. The flaw allows authenticated attackers to craft malicious requests that can delete user accounts without proper authorization, exploiting the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in the deletion endpoints. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to validate the origin of deletion requests, making it susceptible to attacks where an authenticated user visits a malicious website containing embedded requests that automatically delete their accounts or other users' accounts within the forum.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a critical failure in the web application's security architecture, specifically in the session management and request validation components. Without proper CSRF token validation, the forum's user deletion functionality becomes a vector for unauthorized account termination. Attackers can leverage this by embedding malicious forms or javascript code within phishing pages or compromised websites that, when executed in the context of an authenticated forum session, will trigger user deletion requests. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and proper access control enforcement.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple account deletion, as it can lead to data integrity issues, service disruption, and potential escalation to more serious attacks. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can remove users from the forum, potentially including administrators or moderators, thereby compromising the forum's operational integrity. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for denial-of-service attacks against legitimate users and can be used to systematically remove users from the platform. From a security perspective, this vulnerability undermines the trust model of the application and can be leveraged to create further attack vectors within the system.
Organizations should implement comprehensive CSRF protection mechanisms including the use of anti-CSRF tokens, proper request origin validation, and session management controls to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. The implementation should follow established security standards such as those defined in CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities, and align with ATT&CK technique T1213.002 for credential access through web application attacks. The solution requires deployment of CSRF tokens that are validated on the server side for all state-changing operations, proper implementation of the SameSite cookie attributes, and thorough input validation to ensure that requests originate from legitimate sources within the application's domain. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in web applications.