CVE-2018-18935 in PopojiCMS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in PopojiCMS v2.0.1. It has CSRF via the po-admin/route.php?mod=component&act=addnew URI, as demonstrated by adding a level=1 account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-18935 represents a cross-site request forgery flaw within PopojiCMS version 2.0.1 that specifically affects the administrative interface. This issue resides in the po-admin/route.php endpoint with parameters mod=component and act=addnew, which when exploited allows unauthorized attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical weakness in the web application's security controls and authentication mechanisms.
This CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens or other validation mechanisms that would normally verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative sessions. The flaw enables attackers to craft malicious web pages or emails that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable endpoint. The specific exploitation demonstrated involves creating an account with level=1 privileges, which represents a significant security risk given that administrative access could potentially allow attackers to escalate their privileges further within the system. The vulnerability operates under CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery flaws as a fundamental web application security weakness.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple account creation, as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for more extensive compromise within the PopojiCMS environment. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to add malicious components, modify existing content, or potentially gain elevated privileges within the system. The attack vector requires minimal sophistication, as it can be executed through simple HTML forms or JavaScript code embedded in malicious websites, making it particularly dangerous for administrators who may unknowingly trigger the malicious requests. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation through the exploitation of web application flaws.
Organizations using PopojiCMS version 2.0.1 should immediately implement mitigations including the addition of anti-forgery tokens to all administrative actions, implementing proper referer header validation, and ensuring that all administrative endpoints require explicit user confirmation for critical operations. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to a patched version of PopojiCMS that addresses this vulnerability. Additionally, network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional defense-in-depth measures. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual administrative account creation patterns and unauthorized component additions, as these activities may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of implementing proper session management and request validation controls in web applications, particularly within administrative interfaces where elevated privileges can lead to complete system compromise.