CVE-2020-19263 in MipCMS
Summary
by MITRE • 09/10/2021
A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) in MipCMS v5.0.1 allows attackers to arbitrarily escalate user privileges to administrator via index.php?s=/user/ApiAdminUser/itemEdit.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/12/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-19263 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within MipCMS version 5.0.1 that enables unauthorized privilege escalation. This vulnerability exists in the administrative user management functionality, specifically within the index.php endpoint at the path ?s=/user/ApiAdminUser/itemEdit. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate administrative user accounts without proper authorization, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The CSRF vulnerability arises from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms in the affected API endpoint, making it susceptible to exploitation through malicious web pages or email attachments that trigger unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows the standard CSRF attack pattern where an attacker crafts a malicious request that targets the administrative user management interface. When a legitimate administrator visits a malicious webpage or clicks on a compromised link, the browser automatically submits the crafted request to the vulnerable MipCMS instance. The attack specifically targets the itemEdit function within the ApiAdminUser controller, which handles user privilege modifications. Without proper validation of the request origin or anti-CSRF token verification, the system processes the malicious request as if it originated from an authenticated administrator, thereby granting the attacker elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, potentially allowing attackers to gain complete administrative control over the affected MipCMS installation. Once escalated to administrator level, the attacker can modify user permissions, access sensitive data, modify website content, install malicious software, and potentially use the compromised system as a launching point for further attacks within the network. The vulnerability affects the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the content management system, undermining the security posture of websites relying on MipCMS v5.0.1. This flaw particularly impacts organizations that depend on CMS platforms for their web presence, as it provides a direct path to system compromise through social engineering techniques that are relatively easy to implement.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the affected MipCMS application. The primary fix involves adding proper CSRF token validation to the ApiAdminUser/itemEdit endpoint, ensuring that each administrative request includes a unique, unpredictable token that correlates with the user's session. Additionally, implementing proper origin validation and referer header checking can provide additional layers of protection. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution and ensure that the application enforces strict session management practices. The fix aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and follows ATT&CK technique T1548.005 for privilege escalation through web application vulnerabilities. Regular security updates and patch management processes should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future versions of the CMS platform.