CVE-2018-19560 in BageCMS
Summary
by MITRE
BageCMS 3.1.3 has CSRF via upload/index.php?r=admini/admin/ownerUpdate to modify a user account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-19560 affects BageCMS version 3.1.3 and represents a cross-site request forgery flaw that enables unauthorized account modification through file upload functionality. This issue resides within the administrative interface at the endpoint upload/index.php?r=admini/admin/ownerUpdate, where malicious actors can exploit the lack of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms to manipulate user account details without legitimate authorization. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical weakness in the web application's session management and request validation processes, particularly in the administrative user account modification workflow.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or similar validation mechanisms within the targeted administrative endpoint. When an authenticated administrator visits a malicious page or clicks on a crafted link, the application processes the request without verifying the authenticity of the origin or validating the request integrity. This allows attackers to construct malicious requests that leverage the administrator's existing session to perform unauthorized modifications to user accounts. The vulnerability specifically targets the ownerUpdate functionality, which suggests it operates within the context of user management or administrative privileges, making it particularly dangerous for compromising system integrity and user data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple account modification as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for further exploitation within the BageCMS environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF flaw could change user passwords, elevate privileges, or manipulate account permissions, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, undermining the security model that should protect administrative functions from unauthorized access. This flaw particularly impacts organizations relying on BageCMS for content management, as it could enable attackers to gain persistent access to administrative controls and potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection measures throughout the administrative interface. The solution requires the integration of unique, unpredictable tokens that are generated for each user session and validated on every state-changing request. These tokens must be embedded within forms and validated server-side before processing any administrative modifications. Organizations should also implement proper request origin validation and consider implementing additional security controls such as SameSite cookie attributes and Content Security Policy headers to further protect against CSRF attacks. The fix aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. This vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers valid accounts and the abuse of administrative privileges, demonstrating how CSRF can be leveraged to establish persistent access within compromised systems. The implementation of proper input validation and session management controls, as recommended by OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines, would effectively prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security testing to identify similar CSRF flaws within their web applications and ensure that all administrative endpoints implement robust protection mechanisms.