CVE-2020-26522 in Garfield Petshop
Summary
by MITRE • 10/09/2020
A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in mod/user/act_user.php in Garfield Petshop through 2020-10-01 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that create new administrative accounts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/17/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-26522 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Garfield Petshop application version dated 2020-10-01. This weakness resides in the mod/user/act_user.php component and fundamentally compromises the application's authentication mechanisms by enabling unauthorized actors to manipulate administrative account creation processes. The vulnerability operates through the exploitation of insufficient anti-CSRF protections, allowing malicious actors to craft requests that appear legitimate to the application's backend systems. This particular flaw falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for credential access through forged requests.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper validation mechanisms within the act_user.php script that handles user account creation. When administrators perform administrative tasks through the web interface, the application fails to verify that requests originate from legitimate sources within the authenticated session. Attackers can leverage this weakness by constructing malicious web pages or embedding payloads that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable endpoint, thereby creating new administrative accounts without proper authorization. The vulnerability specifically targets the account creation functionality, which represents a high-value target within the application's administrative interface. This flaw essentially allows attackers to bypass the normal authentication flow and establish persistent access through the creation of new administrative credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally undermines the security posture of the entire application environment. Once an attacker successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability, they gain administrative privileges that enable them to modify application settings, access sensitive user data, manipulate content, and potentially establish backdoors for persistent access. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or knowledge of valid credentials to initiate the attack. The implications include potential data breaches, unauthorized modifications to the application's functionality, and complete compromise of the administrative interface. This represents a critical risk to organizations relying on Garfield Petshop for their business operations, as it enables attackers to assume full administrative control without detection.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-26522 should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the application's authentication flow. The most effective approach involves implementing unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session that must be validated before any administrative actions are processed. Organizations should also ensure that all administrative functions require explicit confirmation through multi-factor authentication or additional verification steps. The implementation of proper session management practices, including secure cookie attributes and session timeout mechanisms, can further reduce the attack surface. Additionally, regular security audits and input validation should be enforced to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other application components. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests that attempt to exploit CSRF vulnerabilities. According to ATT&CK framework guidance, defensive measures should include monitoring for anomalous administrative account creation patterns and implementing least privilege access controls to limit the damage potential of successful exploitation.