CVE-2018-19561 in sikcms
Summary
by MITRE
sikcms 1.1 has CSRF via admin.php?m=Admin&c=Users&a=userAdd to add an administrator account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-19561 affects sikcms version 1.1 and represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw that allows unauthorized attackers to escalate privileges by adding administrator accounts. This vulnerability exists within the administrative interface of the content management system where the user management functionality lacks proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms. The specific endpoint admin.php?m=Admin&c=Users&a=userAdd is susceptible to exploitation because it processes user addition requests without validating the authenticity of the request source or requiring anti-CSRF tokens.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of CSRF protection mechanisms within the sikcms administrative framework. When an administrator visits the user management page and performs actions such as adding new users, the system does not validate whether the request originates from a legitimate administrative session or has been crafted by an attacker. This flaw allows an attacker to craft malicious web pages or emails that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable endpoint. The attack vector typically involves embedding malicious JavaScript or HTML forms that target the specific URL endpoint, leveraging the administrator's existing authenticated session to create new administrative accounts without their knowledge or consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables privilege escalation attacks that can completely compromise the affected system. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can create new administrator accounts with full system access, effectively gaining complete control over the content management system and potentially the underlying infrastructure. This allows for data exfiltration, modification of content, installation of malicious software, and establishment of persistent access points. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the entire system as it bypasses the authentication and authorization mechanisms designed to protect administrative functions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing robust CSRF protection mechanisms throughout the application. Organizations should ensure that all administrative endpoints require anti-CSRF tokens that are validated on each request, preventing unauthorized submissions from external domains. The implementation should follow industry standards such as those recommended by CWE-352 which categorizes CSRF vulnerabilities and provides guidance on proper protection mechanisms. Additionally, the application should enforce proper session management and implement the principle of least privilege, ensuring that administrative functions require additional authentication factors beyond simple session validation. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques where attackers leverage weak session management to gain elevated system access. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests targeting administrative endpoints, while regular security audits should verify that all administrative functions properly implement CSRF protection mechanisms to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future versions.