CVE-2018-16458 in baigo
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in baigo CMS v2.1.1. There is an index.php?m=article&c=request CSRF that can cause publication of any article.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-16458 resides within baigo CMS version 2.1.1 and represents a cross-site request forgery flaw that allows unauthorized publication of articles. This issue specifically affects the article management functionality where the system fails to properly validate the origin of requests made to the index.php endpoint with parameters m=article and c=request. The flaw enables an attacker to craft malicious requests that, when executed by authenticated users, can result in arbitrary article publication without proper authorization.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or origin validation mechanisms within the affected CMS component. When users navigate to the article management interface and perform actions through the request controller, the system does not verify that the request originates from a legitimate source within the same application context. This allows attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the browser and the CMS application to execute unauthorized operations on behalf of authenticated users.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to content management systems that rely on baigo CMS for article publishing. An attacker could potentially publish malicious content, spam articles, or manipulate the content repository to include inappropriate material. The impact extends beyond simple content modification as it can affect the credibility and security posture of the entire website. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the application level rather than requiring system-level access, making it accessible to attackers with minimal privileges.
The flaw aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. This classification emphasizes the core issue of insufficient validation of request sources and the exploitation of trust relationships between web applications and user browsers. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through content manipulation, as attackers can establish unauthorized publishing capabilities that persist across user sessions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate implementation of anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the CMS application. The system must generate unique tokens for each user session and validate these tokens against every request made to the article management endpoints. Additionally, implementing proper origin validation checks and referer header verification can provide additional layers of protection. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers and regular security audits to detect similar vulnerabilities. The most effective long-term solution involves updating to a patched version of baigo CMS that addresses this specific CSRF weakness and incorporates proper request validation mechanisms.