CVE-2018-25190 in Easyndexer
Summary
by MITRE • 03/06/2026
Easyndexer 1.0 contains a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to create administrative accounts by submitting forged POST requests. Attackers can craft malicious web pages that submit POST requests to createuser.php with parameters including username, password, name, surname, and privileges set to 1 for administrator access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/16/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-25190 resides within Easyndexer version 1.0, a web application that fails to implement proper anti-CSRF mechanisms in its user account creation functionality. This critical security flaw stems from the application's inability to validate the origin of POST requests submitted to the createuser.php endpoint, creating a pathway for unauthenticated attackers to exploit the system's trust model. The vulnerability specifically affects the administrative account creation process, where the application accepts user-provided parameters without adequate verification of request authenticity or user authorization.
This cross-site request forgery vulnerability operates through the manipulation of web forms and the exploitation of the application's trust in legitimate user sessions. When an attacker crafts a malicious web page containing embedded HTML forms or JavaScript that automatically submits POST requests to the createuser.php endpoint, the application processes these requests as if they originated from legitimate administrative users. The forged requests contain parameters including username, password, name, surname, and explicitly set privileges to 1, which directly maps to administrative privileges within the application's access control system. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms entirely and create accounts with elevated privileges without requiring any valid credentials or session tokens.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized account creation, as it fundamentally compromises the application's security model and administrative control. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can establish persistent administrative access to the Easyndexer system, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or further lateral movement within network environments. The vulnerability affects the application's integrity and confidentiality by allowing unauthorized individuals to assume administrative roles and potentially access sensitive data or system configurations. This type of vulnerability directly violates security principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten, specifically addressing the risk of broken authentication and insufficient logging and monitoring, and represents a significant weakness in the application's authorization framework.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-25190 should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms throughout the application's architecture. The most effective approach involves deploying unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session that must be validated on every state-changing request, particularly those involving user account creation or privilege modifications. The application should enforce strict origin validation and implement proper session management controls to ensure that all requests originate from legitimate user interactions within the application interface. Additionally, the system should implement rate limiting and monitoring for account creation activities to detect anomalous patterns that may indicate CSRF attacks. Security controls should align with CWE-352 standards for CSRF protection and follow ATT&CK technique T1078 for credential access, emphasizing the importance of validating request sources and implementing proper access controls. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security assessments to detect and prevent similar vulnerabilities in other application components.