CVE-2019-12923 in Enterprise Premium
Summary
by MITRE
In MailEnable Enterprise Premium 10.23, the potential cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection mechanism was not implemented correctly and it was possible to bypass it by removing the anti-CSRF token parameter from the request. This could allow an attacker to manipulate a user into unwittingly performing actions within the application (such as sending email, adding contacts, or changing settings) on behalf of the attacker.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/02/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-12923 represents a critical weakness in the MailEnable Enterprise Premium 10.23 web application that fundamentally undermines its security posture. This issue manifests as a flawed implementation of cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms, which are essential for preventing unauthorized actions performed on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability resides within the application's session management and request validation processes, where the anti-CSRF token mechanism fails to properly validate the presence and authenticity of security tokens required to authorize legitimate user actions. The flaw allows attackers to bypass the intended protection by simply removing the anti-CSRF token parameter from malicious requests, effectively nullifying the security controls designed to prevent unauthorized operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from a failure in the web application's input validation and request processing logic. When legitimate users perform actions within the MailEnable interface, the system should verify that each request contains a valid anti-CSRF token that was generated specifically for that user session and action. However, in this vulnerable version, the application accepts requests even when the token parameter is removed or manipulated, creating an exploitable condition where attackers can construct malicious requests that appear to originate from authenticated users. This weakness directly violates security principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and represents a specific instance of CWE-352, which defines cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised user's context. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to send unauthorized emails from the victim's account, add malicious contacts to the user's address book, modify email settings, or even access sensitive information stored within the MailEnable system. The consequences are particularly severe in enterprise environments where MailEnable serves as a critical communication platform, as successful exploitation could lead to data exfiltration, spam distribution, or further lateral movement within the network. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering tactics involving the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to systems.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block malformed requests lacking proper CSRF tokens, along with the implementation of proper token validation mechanisms that enforce strict checking of anti-CSRF parameters. Additionally, administrators should ensure that all users are educated about the risks of clicking suspicious links or visiting untrusted websites that might trigger CSRF attacks. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to a patched version of MailEnable Enterprise Premium that properly implements CSRF protection mechanisms, as the vulnerability cannot be reliably remediated through configuration changes alone. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of authenticated requests that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on email sending activities and configuration changes that occur without proper user interaction.