CVE-2019-9958 in EspressReport ES
Summary
by MITRE
CSRF within the admin panel in Quadbase EspressReport ES (ERES) v7.0 update 7 allows remote attackers to escalate privileges, or create new admin accounts by crafting a malicious web page that issues specific requests, using a target admin's session to process their requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-9958 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the admin panel of Quadbase EspressReport ES version 7.0 update 7. This weakness stems from the application's failure to implement proper anti-CSRF mechanisms when processing administrative requests, creating a significant security gap that can be exploited by remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to administrative functions. The vulnerability specifically affects the web-based administration interface, making it accessible to threat actors without requiring local system access or prior authentication credentials.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious web pages that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable application's admin panel. When a logged-in administrator visits the malicious page, their browser automatically includes their active session cookies, enabling the attacker to execute administrative actions on their behalf. This includes privilege escalation operations and the creation of new administrative accounts, effectively granting the attacker full control over the application's administrative functions. The flaw occurs because the application does not validate the origin of requests or require anti-CSRF tokens for critical administrative operations, making it susceptible to exploitation through simple web page construction techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it directly enables unauthorized administrative access to the Quadbase EspressReport ES system. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform actions such as modifying user permissions, accessing sensitive data, creating backdoor accounts, and potentially escalating privileges to gain complete system control. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation can occur from anywhere on the internet, without requiring physical access to the target network or system. This vulnerability essentially undermines the entire administrative security model of the application, as legitimate administrative sessions become vulnerable to manipulation by malicious actors.
Security professionals should implement several mitigation strategies to address this CSRF vulnerability, including the immediate implementation of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative requests and the enforcement of proper request origin validation. The application should be configured to require unique tokens for each administrative operation, preventing automated attacks from succeeding. Additionally, implementing proper session management practices and ensuring that administrative functions require explicit user confirmation for critical operations would significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Organizations should also consider deploying web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious administrative requests, while conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that should be maintained in administrative interfaces. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique, as it enables attackers to move from a standard user position to administrative control through the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities.