CVE-2018-20598 in UCMS
Summary
by MITRE
UCMS 1.4.7 has ?do=user_addpost CSRF.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/25/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2018-20598 affects UCMS version 1.4.7 and represents a cross-site request forgery flaw that allows attackers to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. This vulnerability specifically targets the user addpost functionality within the content management system, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this platform for their web content management needs. The issue stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF protections in the user addition post mechanism, making it susceptible to exploitation through malicious web requests.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the lack of anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms when processing user addition posts. An attacker can craft a malicious web page or email that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submits a request to the vulnerable UCMS system to add a new user account. This flaw operates at the application layer and demonstrates poor input validation and session management practices. The vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566.001 for spearphishing attachments, as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access through unauthorized user creation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it allows attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to the system. Successful exploitation enables threat actors to create new user accounts with varying levels of access, potentially leading to full system compromise. This vulnerability can be exploited in conjunction with other attacks to establish backdoors, exfiltrate data, or perform further reconnaissance within the network. Organizations using UCMS 1.4.7 face significant risk of unauthorized account creation, which can result in data breaches, service disruption, and potential compliance violations. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no special privileges to exploit, as the attacker only needs to convince a legitimate user to visit a malicious page while authenticated.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-20598 should include immediate patching of the UCMS application to version 1.4.8 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should implement proper anti-CSRF token validation throughout the application's user management functions, ensuring that all state-changing operations require valid tokens. Network administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable endpoints. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual user creation patterns and unauthorized access attempts. Additionally, user education regarding suspicious web content and phishing attempts can help reduce the attack surface. The remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce compatibility issues with existing functionality while maintaining proper CSRF protections. Organizations should also review their overall security posture to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other applications that may be susceptible to cross-site request forgery attacks.