CVE-2018-20648 in Car Rental Script
Summary
by MITRE
PHP Scripts Mall Car Rental Script 2.0.8 has Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) via accountedit.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-20648 affects PHP Scripts Mall Car Rental Script version 2.0.8 and represents a critical Cross-Site Request Forgery flaw that can be exploited by attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of insecure direct object references and improper authorization mechanisms, which are commonly classified as CWE-352 in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog. The specific endpoint accountedit.php serves as the attack vector where the CSRF protection mechanisms have been inadequately implemented or completely absent, allowing malicious actors to manipulate user sessions and execute unintended operations.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper validation mechanisms within the accountedit.php script. When a user accesses this page to modify their account information, the application fails to implement anti-CSRF tokens or other sufficient protection measures that would verify the authenticity of the request origin. This weakness enables an attacker to craft malicious web pages or emails that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable application without the user's knowledge or consent. The attack typically involves embedding hidden forms or javascript code that triggers the account modification functionality, potentially allowing attackers to change user credentials, update personal information, or alter account permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it can lead to complete account compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive user information within the car rental system. Attackers could exploit this flaw to gain persistent access to user accounts, potentially leading to financial fraud through unauthorized booking modifications or identity theft via credential changes. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the application's user management system, undermining the trust model that users place in the security of their personal data. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1548.002 technique for abuse of cloud compute infrastructure, where unauthorized access to user accounts can be leveraged for further exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF token mechanisms throughout the application's session management. The recommended approach involves generating unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session and validating these tokens on every state-changing request to the accountedit.php endpoint. Additionally, implementing proper referer header validation and utilizing the SameSite cookie attributes can provide additional layers of protection. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments and code reviews to identify similar vulnerabilities across other endpoints in the application. The implementation of these protections aligns with security best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten Project and should be considered a critical requirement for maintaining the security posture of web applications handling user authentication and sensitive data. Regular patching and updates of the car rental script are essential to address this vulnerability and prevent exploitation by threat actors who may be actively targeting this specific weakness in the application.