CVE-2020-24271 in EasyCMS
Summary
by MITRE • 02/02/2021
A CSRF vulnerability was discovered in EasyCMS v1.6 that can add an admin account through index.php?s=/admin/rbacuser/insert/navTabId/rbacuser/callbackType/closeCurrent, then post username=***&password=***.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/22/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-24271 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within EasyCMS version 1.6 that fundamentally compromises the application's administrative access controls. This weakness exists in the rbacuser/insert endpoint of the CMS system, specifically at the index.php?s=/admin/rbacuser/insert/navTabId/rbacuser/callbackType/closeCurrent URI path, where the application fails to properly validate or enforce anti-CSRF tokens during administrative account creation operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request validation mechanisms that would normally require a valid CSRF token to be present in the request payload when attempting to create administrative user accounts. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious requests that leverage the existing administrative functionality to programmatically insert new administrator accounts into the system. The attack requires only basic HTTP POST requests containing username and password parameters, making it particularly dangerous as it can be executed through various attack vectors including malicious web pages, social engineering campaigns, or compromised third-party sites that can trigger the vulnerable endpoint.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it provides attackers with persistent administrative access to the entire CMS infrastructure. Once an attacker successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability, they can gain complete control over the content management system, including the ability to modify or delete content, manipulate user permissions, access sensitive data, and potentially use the compromised system as a launching point for further attacks within the network. This represents a significant threat to organizations relying on EasyCMS for their web presence, as the vulnerability can be exploited without requiring any prior authentication or specialized knowledge of the system's internal workings.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. This classification indicates that the flaw represents a fundamental failure in the application's security model to properly validate user requests, particularly those that modify system state or user privileges. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1566 which covers phishing attacks, as attackers can leverage this vulnerability through various social engineering methods to gain unauthorized administrative access. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including the enforcement of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative functions, proper request validation mechanisms, and the implementation of additional authentication controls such as two-factor authentication to protect against unauthorized administrative access.
The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates a critical gap in the application's security architecture that violates fundamental principles of secure web application development. The lack of proper CSRF protection in administrative endpoints represents a design flaw that allows attackers to bypass normal authentication mechanisms and assume administrative privileges through carefully crafted requests. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited silently in the background without user knowledge, making detection and mitigation more challenging for system administrators. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of implementing comprehensive security controls, including proper input validation, authentication enforcement, and CSRF protection mechanisms, particularly for applications that handle sensitive administrative functions and user privilege management.