CVE-2020-23451 in Spiceworks
Summary
by MITRE
Spiceworks Version <= 7.5.00107 is affected by CSRF which can lead to privilege escalation via "/settings/v1/users" function.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-23451 affects Spiceworks versions 7.5.00107 and earlier, representing a cross-site request forgery flaw that can be exploited to achieve privilege escalation within the application's user management system. This vulnerability specifically targets the "/settings/v1/users" endpoint, which serves as a critical interface for managing user accounts and their associated permissions. The flaw allows an attacker to manipulate the application's user management functions through crafted malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the user management endpoint. When a user with administrative privileges accesses the "/settings/v1/users" function, the application fails to verify that the request originates from the authenticated user's session rather than from a malicious third party. This oversight creates an exploitable condition where an attacker can construct a malicious request that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, modifies user permissions or creates new administrative accounts without the user's knowledge or consent.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system functions and data. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can elevate their privileges to administrative level, potentially gaining access to all user accounts, system configurations, and sensitive organizational data managed by Spiceworks. The implications are particularly severe given that Spiceworks is commonly used for IT infrastructure management, network monitoring, and asset tracking within enterprise environments where it often holds privileged access to critical systems.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery as a security weakness where a web application fails to validate that requests originate from legitimate users. The attack pattern follows typical CSRF exploitation methodologies documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1548.001 for abuse of privileges, as the compromised system allows attackers to escalate their access level through the manipulation of user management functions. The vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics of T1213.002 for data from information repositories, as it provides access to user account information and system configuration data.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of Spiceworks should immediately implement mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations, particularly within administrative interfaces. The implementation of proper session management and request validation mechanisms is essential to prevent unauthorized modifications to user accounts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network-level protections such as web application firewalls and access controls that restrict direct access to administrative endpoints. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to Spiceworks versions that have addressed this vulnerability, as the underlying code modifications necessary to resolve the issue cannot be effectively patched through configuration changes alone. Security monitoring should also be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in user management activities that might indicate exploitation attempts.