CVE-2018-5329 in BEIMS ContractorWeb .NET
Summary
by MITRE
ZUUSE BEIMS ContractorWeb .NET 5.18.0.0 is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) on /CWEBNET/* authenticated pages. A successful CSRF attack can force the user to modify state: creating users, changing an email address, and so forth. If the victim is an administrative account, CSRF can compromise the entire web application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-5329 affects ZUUSE BEIMS ContractorWeb .NET version 5.18.0.0, exposing a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the authentication system. This weakness resides within the /CWEBNET/* authenticated pages, where the application fails to implement proper anti-CSRF mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from the absence of unique, unpredictable tokens that would normally validate the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate users. Without these protective measures, malicious actors can craft deceptive requests that appear to come from authenticated users, effectively bypassing the application's security controls.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate the web application's state through authenticated sessions. When a victim user accesses a maliciously crafted page while maintaining an active session with ContractorWeb, the application processes requests without verifying their intended origin. This flaw enables unauthorized actions such as creating new user accounts, modifying existing user information, or changing email addresses associated with accounts. The vulnerability's severity increases significantly when administrative accounts are compromised, as these users typically possess elevated privileges that could lead to complete system takeover.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this CSRF vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification. An attacker who successfully exploits this weakness can potentially establish persistent access to the application through user creation, gain unauthorized administrative privileges, or manipulate critical business processes. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the web application's core functionality, as it undermines the fundamental authentication mechanisms designed to protect system resources. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal technical expertise to execute, making it a high-risk vulnerability for organizations relying on ContractorWeb for business operations.
Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each request. The implementation should follow established security standards such as those defined in CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities. Additional protective measures include implementing the SameSite cookie attributes, validating the Referer header, and ensuring proper session management controls. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious request patterns that may indicate CSRF attack attempts. The remediation process should involve thorough code review to ensure all authenticated endpoints properly validate request origins and implement robust session handling mechanisms. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1566 which covers credential harvesting, emphasizing the need for layered defensive strategies.