CVE-2019-9059 in CMS Made Simple
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in CMS Made Simple 2.2.8. It is possible, with an administrator account, to achieve command injection by modifying the path of the e-mail executable in Mail Settings, setting "sendmail" in the "Mailer" option, and launching the "Forgot your password" feature.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/21/2020
This vulnerability exists within CMS Made Simple version 2.2.8, representing a critical command injection flaw that can be exploited by authenticated administrators. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization when processing user-supplied data in the email configuration settings. Specifically, an attacker with administrative privileges can manipulate the email executable path by modifying the mailer configuration, which then gets executed without proper sanitization during the password recovery process.
The technical exploitation occurs through the Mail Settings component where the "Mailer" option accepts the value "sendmail" and allows arbitrary path modification. When an administrator configures this setting and subsequently triggers the "Forgot your password" functionality, the system executes the configured mailer command without adequate parameter validation. This creates a classic command injection scenario where malicious input can be interpreted as shell commands, potentially allowing full system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it provides an attacker with elevated privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system. An attacker with administrative access can leverage this flaw to gain remote code execution capabilities, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or lateral movement within the network. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only administrative credentials, which are often more privileged than regular user accounts and may be less frequently monitored for suspicious activities.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-78, which describes improper neutralization of special elements used in OS commands, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and script injection. The attack surface is significantly expanded by the fact that legitimate administrative functionality is being abused, making detection more challenging. Organizations should implement strict input validation, parameter sanitization, and principle of least privilege controls to prevent such exploitation. Regular security updates and patch management are critical to remediate this vulnerability, as the flaw exists in the configuration handling of email services within the CMS framework. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of validating all user inputs in administrative interfaces and implementing proper command execution safeguards to prevent arbitrary code execution through seemingly benign configuration options.
Additional mitigations include implementing web application firewalls to detect suspicious command execution patterns, monitoring administrative configuration changes, and conducting regular security assessments of CMS components. Organizations should also consider disabling unnecessary administrative features and implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts to reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability highlights the critical need for proper input validation in all user-facing administrative interfaces, particularly those that interact with system-level operations such as email configuration and system command execution.