CVE-2018-25370 in Admidio
Summary
by MITRE • 05/26/2026
Admidio 3.3.5 contains a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows low-privilege users to increase their permissions by exploiting improper origin checking. Attackers can craft malicious HTML forms targeting roles_function.php with parameters like rol_assign_roles, rol_approve_users, and rol_edit_user set to 1 to escalate privileges without authentication.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2026
The vulnerability in Admidio 3.3.5 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw that undermines the application's permission management system. This weakness stems from inadequate origin validation mechanisms within the roles_function.php endpoint, which fails to properly verify the source of incoming requests. The vulnerability allows attackers with low-privilege accounts to manipulate the application's access control by submitting crafted requests that modify role assignment parameters. The specific parameters rol_assign_roles, rol_approve_users, and rol_edit_user when set to 1 enable unauthorized privilege escalation, effectively bypassing the normal authentication and authorization processes that should prevent such modifications.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability operates through the exploitation of improper origin checking, which is classified under CWE-346 as "Improper Verification of Source". The flaw exists because the application does not implement robust referer header validation or origin domain verification when processing requests to the roles_function.php endpoint. This allows malicious actors to craft HTML forms that, when executed in a victim's browser context, submit requests with elevated permission parameters. The attack vector leverages the browser's automatic handling of cookies and session information, making it particularly dangerous as users may unknowingly execute malicious requests while browsing compromised sites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of the application's role-based access control model. Low-privilege users who successfully exploit this flaw can gain administrative capabilities, potentially leading to data theft, unauthorized modifications, and complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects the core security architecture of Admidio, which relies on proper role management to maintain data confidentiality and system integrity. This weakness creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited repeatedly, as the attack requires no special authentication credentials beyond the initial low-privilege access. The implications are particularly severe given that the vulnerability affects critical administrative functions that control user permissions and system access rights.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper origin validation and implementing the principle of least privilege in request processing. Organizations should deploy Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized cross-origin requests and ensure that all administrative endpoints validate the requesting domain against a whitelist of trusted origins. The application should implement CSRF tokens for all state-changing requests and enforce strict referer header validation to prevent unauthorized modifications. Additionally, the system should implement proper input validation and sanitization for all parameters received through the roles_function.php endpoint. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 Privilege Escalation and T1566 Credential Access through Social Engineering, highlighting the need for comprehensive security controls including user education and robust access control mechanisms. Regular security assessments and code reviews should specifically target authentication and authorization endpoints to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future releases.