CVE-2020-24401 in Magento
Summary
by MITRE • 11/09/2020
Magento versions 2.4.0 and 2.3.5p1 (and earlier) are affected by an incorrect authorization vulnerability. A user can still access resources provisioned under their old role after an administrator removes the role or disables the user's account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/03/2020
This vulnerability represents a critical authorization flaw in Magento e-commerce platforms that undermines the fundamental security model of user access control. The issue stems from how the system handles role-based permissions when user accounts undergo administrative changes, creating a persistent security gap that allows unauthorized access to resources. The vulnerability affects specific versions including 2.4.0 and 2.3.5p1, indicating it was present in multiple major releases and likely persisted due to inadequate session management and permission caching mechanisms. This flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege and can be categorized under CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in software systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when an administrator performs role modifications or account deactivation actions. The system fails to properly invalidate or refresh the authorization tokens associated with the affected user, allowing the individual to continue accessing resources that should no longer be available. This represents a classic session management failure where the system does not adequately synchronize permission changes with active user sessions. The persistence of access rights across administrative modifications creates a window of opportunity for privilege escalation attacks and unauthorized data access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations using Magento platforms, as it allows malicious actors or compromised accounts to maintain access to restricted functionality even after administrative actions have been taken to revoke permissions. This could enable data exfiltration, unauthorized transactions, or modification of critical system components. The vulnerability affects the core business logic of user management and access control, potentially leading to financial losses, regulatory compliance violations, and reputational damage. Organizations may experience unauthorized access to customer data, product catalogs, or administrative functions that should only be available to authorized personnel.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing immediate code patches that ensure proper session invalidation when role changes occur, along with enhanced monitoring of user access patterns and permission modifications. Organizations should deploy comprehensive access control auditing to detect unauthorized access attempts and implement multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of compromised accounts. The remediation process should include immediate patching of affected Magento versions, followed by thorough testing of access control mechanisms to ensure that permission changes are properly enforced. Additionally, system administrators should establish regular audits of user roles and permissions to identify and address any lingering access issues that may have been introduced by this vulnerability. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation through unauthorized access to systems.