CVE-2019-5433 in Adserver
Summary
by MITRE
A user having access to the UI of a Revive Adserver instance could be tricked into clicking on a specifically crafted admin account-switch.php URL that would eventually lead them to another (unsafe) domain, potentially used for stealing credentials or other phishing attacks. This vulnerability was addressed in version 4.2.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/12/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-5433 represents a critical cross-site scripting and phishing attack vector within the Revive Adserver platform. This security flaw exploited the trust relationship between administrators and the user interface, creating a pathway for attackers to manipulate legitimate users into navigating to malicious domains. The vulnerability specifically targeted the admin account-switch.php endpoint, which served as an entry point for unauthorized redirection attempts that could compromise user sessions and credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the administrative interface. When users accessed the crafted malicious URL, the system failed to properly sanitize the redirect parameter, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary domain names into the redirection chain. This flaw falls under CWE-601 which specifically addresses URL redirection vulnerabilities where applications redirect users to untrusted domains without proper validation. The vulnerability exploited the trust model inherent in administrative interfaces, where legitimate users would naturally expect to be redirected to authorized domains during normal administrative operations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability posed significant risks to organizations utilizing Revive Adserver for digital advertising management. The attack scenario typically involved social engineering tactics where administrators would be tricked into clicking on seemingly legitimate links that appeared to be part of normal administrative workflows. The phishing attack could result in credential theft, session hijacking, or further compromise of the advertising infrastructure. Security analysts noted that the attack was particularly dangerous because it leveraged the elevated privileges of administrative accounts, potentially allowing attackers to gain full control over the advertising platform and its associated data.
The remediation for CVE-2019-5433 required implementation of strict URL validation and domain whitelisting mechanisms within the account-switch.php endpoint. The fix involved modifying the application code to ensure that all redirect parameters were validated against a predefined list of trusted domains before any redirection occurred. This approach aligns with the principle of least privilege and follows the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for phishing and credential theft attacks. Organizations were advised to immediately upgrade to version 4.2.0 or later, which included comprehensive input sanitization and redirect validation measures. Additionally, security teams were recommended to implement web application firewalls and monitor for suspicious redirect patterns in their network traffic to detect potential exploitation attempts.